With great anticipation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) recently opened their new special exhibition, “Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s,” on April 12. It explores the explosion of creativity that characterized the 1940s, aiming to take a closer look at how art and design shifted alongside history and culture. The show spans a multitude of mediums and features over 250 works of painting, sculpture, photography, fashion, furniture, and more, all sourced exclusively from the PMA collections.
Upon entering the exhibition, you will be greeted by jazzy swing music, a patriotic radio, expressive paintings, and portraits of Harlem Renaissance pioneers, all of which highlight the flourishing of art and entertainment at the turn of the 1940s. However, the show also sought to address the heavy toll of industrialization on its workers around this time, which is conveyed by a black wall lined with prints, each testifying to the lives of American farmers, laborers, and factory workers, many of whom were lower-class immigrants and/or persons of color.
Visitors then flow into a low-ceiling hallway that explores art in the early 1940s, right after the declaration of World War II in Europe. To the right, you will see marvelous tiles, paintings, and American landscapes from artists like Georgia O’ Keeffe, as well as some innovative works of light photography. To the left, you will find an array of wartime Schiaparelli garments, including a military-inspired jacket with spectacularly deep pockets, in case its wearer also needed to carry a gas mask when leaving the house.
From there, the gallery opens up into a grand exhibit titled “Creativity & Utility in World War II,” which includes a number of outfits and furniture designed under 1940s rationing restrictions, many of which directly serviced wartime efforts. Highlights include the American WAVES uniform and Jens Risom’s chair made out of parachute straps, as well as three stenciled posters from Moscow that hang from ceiling to floor. There are also photographic records of the war taken by Margaret Bourne-White at the front lines of conflict.
The following section, named “Fractured Forms,” investigates how American artists grappled with the legacy of Cubism and approached the genre of abstraction. Many artists featured in this exhibit were members of a group called the American Abstract Artists, who created a space for the discussion and exploration of abstract art in the 1940s. A focal point of this exhibit is the glass case of necklaces, brooches, and accessories fashioned out of scrap metal and junk material, which embodies the “make-do” mindset that promoted textural exploration and unconventional forms.
Moving onto the navy blue gallery next door, you will then be introduced to the rise of Abstract Expressionism, which rejected realism in pursuit of emotional and subconscious expression, characterized by gestural brushstrokes, spontaneous splatters, and color swatches. Here, you will find modern classics such as “Male and Female” (1942-43) by Jackson Pollock and “Composition” (1949) by Lee Krasner. This section, and the exhibition in general, also spotlights Japanese American artists and designers such as Isamu Noguchi and George Nakashima, who were incarcerated at internment camps during the war.
While some embraced this new movement of abstraction as an outlet of emotionality and mentality, other artists continued using figural depictions to explore the human condition and portray communal experiences. For instance, Ben Shahn illustrates the familial suffering brought about by the dangerous conditions of the mining industry via haunting portraits, while Jacob Lawrence highlights the library as a cradle of Black education via his trademark Social Realism.
Advancing gradually out of wartime and into the late 1940s, the exhibition then considers the transition from military to domestic production, concentrating on the period of economic prosperity and consumerist design in America post-war. This section features colorful tableware, whimsical textiles, simple furnishings, and handmade objects like enamels and ceramics. Together, they represent the casual aesthetics of “modern living” and the rise of handmade works as a stylish alternative to mass-produced goods, catered towards the emerging middle class. The next hall over examines post-war French and American fashion, emphasizing a return to opulence in France with Dior and the development of an All-American dress silhouette in the U.S. with Claire McCardell. There is also a small gallery paying homage to Atelier 17, an experimental print collective that played with texture and hosted artists such as Salvador Dali.
The show then wraps up with a sneak peak into the Atomic Age, featuring futuristic artworks with dystopian imagery, photographs reflecting on the destructive power of atomic weapons, and a design showcase dedicated to black-and-white modernist aesthetics. The last piece you will encounter before exiting into the gift shop is a lithograph of “The Dove” (1949), a serene yet striking illustration by Pablo Picasso. It was famously adopted by the World Congress of Partisans for Peace as their emblem of global unity, representing a prayer for peace heading into the new age.
Overall, the PMA’s BOOM exhibition offers an informative and well-organized survey of 1940s art and design. With its chronological progression, clear partitioning, and style/medium-based curation, the show lends to easy comprehension and naturally fosters visual narratives via continuity and juxtaposition. If you have time, energy, and $19 to spare, make sure to check it out. Tickets are valid for two days, and the exhibition will be on display until Sep. 1, 2025.
