The 1940s were a vibrant period in American art, design, and fashion. The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) has announced a large-scale exhibition that pays tribute to this unique historical epoch. The show features 250+ works from various industries, ranging from painting to sculpture and from fashion to furniture. Titled “Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s,” the exhibition will examine the power of artistic innovation in the wartime period.

The 1940s as a Unique Historical Period

While World War II wasn’t happening on the American land, it left a trace on the period’s zeitgeist and social mood. Much of the American industry was repurposed for military production, which couldn’t help leaving a trace on the art and fashion trends of those times. The PMA’s upcoming exhibition aims to take a closer look at the intersection of art and World War II by showcasing the distinctive design solutions and creative responses to global conflict.

Major Highlights of “Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s”

The PMA’s collection of art objects from the 1940s represents a versatile set of artistic interpretations of the events and trends the contemporaries were experiencing. Each artist developed a personal response to the local and global challenges, from a focus on modern themes characteristic of Georgia O’Keefe and Ben Shahn to groundbreaking innovation, such as the early conceptions of Abstract Expressionism in the work of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.

The exhibition also features many art objects and artifacts with practical military use in the 1940s. Some notable examples are the American WAVES uniform for female soldiers designed by Mainbocher and a designer chair by Jens Risom, which is made of wartime materials, including parachute straps. Wartime visual art, such as stencils and posters produced in the USA and the European continent, is also at the heart of the upcoming exhibition.

A separate place is given to the post-war design explorations, with the PMA curators tracing the process of shifting from military to civil production and restoring the country’s commercial and creative power. Numerous exhibits welcome the visitors to explore the dusk of domestic furniture and design enterprises and the birth of a new American art landscape.

As a dedicated and long-standing Corporate Partner of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fine Art Shippers won’t miss such a great event and will attend the exhibition’s Opening Reception on April 10, 2025. “Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s” will be on view through September 1, 2025. See you at the show this spring!