Art Deco was, in many ways, different to most of the earlier Modernist movements. While they had at their heart a disruptive sense of purpose, Art Deco was unashamedly populist feel, especially in its American, more streamlined, version. It was about popularising art rather than using its disruptive force. It was about integrating the art into everyday objects and engaging with mass production to democratise the style and modernist art in general. The aim was to raise the status of decorative arts to that of the more classical traditions of the past. It was trying to replace the style and philosophy of art nouveau which used individualised construction and expensive materials, by using the modern techniques of mass production. Its subject matter was the product of the age of machine production.

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The most enduring elements of Art Deco are probably the result of Herbert Hoover sending a delegation to a major Art Deco  Exhibition in France, with a remit to bring back ideas that could develop into a specifically American artistic style. This was taken on by architects, designers, and became the focus for transport design - streamlining - from Cars to trains to Ocean Liners. The style was promoted by the Hollywood film industry and so became a worldwide popular art movement.Amongst the elements taken by Hoover's were the love of speed from the Italian Futurists, which feature in many Art Deco pieces of poster art from the pre-World War 2 period.

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