PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Philadelphia Museum of Art is presenting Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s, an exhibition of over 250 works of sculpture, painting, fashion, photography, furniture and more, drawn entirely from the museum’s extensive collections. On view from April 12 to September 1, 2025, this exhibition examines the 1940s, offering a fresh look of this historic period and celebrating the spirit of innovation that flourished despite adversity.
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Visitors will be treated to a snapshot of the decade's creative endeavors, from practical wartime fashions and striking jewelry made from commonplace materials, to paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs that recorded the people and places of the day. Some artists aimed to capture the world with a modern flair, such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Horace Pippin, and Ben Shahn. Others like Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner challenged the status quo as their work abandoned recognizable forms and forged new visual languages. Pollock’s Male and Female (1942-43) is exemplary of the time, laying the groundwork for the development of Abstract Expressionism in the decade’s later years.
In one section, this exhibition looks at the intersection of art and World War II, bringing together a diverse group of objects made in response to global conflict. Highlights include works made for use during the war, such as Mainbocher’s American WAVES uniform designed for the women’s branch of the U.S. Navy, as well as objects that incorporated wartime materials, such as Jens Risom’s chair with woven parachute straps. This section also draws upon the museum’s extensive collection of posters from both sides of the Atlantic, including three large-scale, stenciled examples produced in Moscow by Soviet artists and writers. These are being displayed alongside photographs from the front lines, such as Air Raid over the Kremlin (1941) by Margaret Bourke-White, illustrating Moscow’s Red Square alight with flares, bombs, and gunfire.
The show then goes on to explore landmarks of postwar design, specifically the recalibration of manufacturing from military to domestic production, returning to the home as a space of commercial and creative potential. Emerging from internment by the U.S. government, Japanese American artists George Nakashima and Isamu Noguchi brought distinctive perspectives to their work in furniture, design, and sculpture. Businesses such as Knoll pivoted from importing furniture from Europe to promoting U.S.-based designers and stateside manufacturing, establishing its first factory in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. Objects from this section include designs by Russel Wright, Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames, some of which are still in production, along with one-of-a-kind examples of enamels, turned wood, and ceramics by Doris Hall, James Prestini, and Gertrud and Otto Natzler.
Elsewhere, the exhibition looks at the impact of war on Paris couture, demonstrated by a military-inspired jacket designed by Elsa Schiaparelli with particularly deep pockets, enabling its wearer to leave the house without a handbag in case they also needed to carry a gasmask. The postwar return to opulence is evident later in this section, with examples by Christian Dior set in contrast to U.S.-based designers such as Claire McCardell who played a role in developing a new and distinctive “American Look.”
The exhibition concludes with work from the late 1940s and into the Atomic Age. Some objects, such as Harold Edgerton's striking photograph of an atomic bomb detonation, reflect the period's continued anxieties around nuclear war. Other images foreground a generation's hopes for a better future, including Pablo Picasso's The Dove (1949), an image used by the World Congress of Partisans for Peace as its emblem to convey shared aspirations for global unity.
"This exhibition sets out to challenge the perception that creative pursuits ground to a halt during the first half of the decade and, instead, will shine a spotlight on the remarkable creativity of 1940s America," said Sasha Suda, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "I am particularly proud that we will be drawing entirely from the museum’s extensive collections to tell stories of a decade that was both tumultuous and transformative.”
"It has been thrilling to explore the museum's extensive holdings to identify works – a number of which have never been on view, including pieces conserved specifically for this exhibition – that illuminate some of the lesser-known stories, artists, themes, and innovations across a range of media and styles," said curator Jessica T. Smith, Director of Curatorial Affairs. "It is inspiring to see how creative spirits persevered despite material restrictions and global conflict."
Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s is accompanied by a magazine-style book featuring short texts by the curatorial team; contributions by Ken Burns, Edmund de Waal, and Christian McBride in conversation with Alison McDonald; essays by Frederic Murphy, Alexandra Palmer, and Steven Rea; and poetry by Anna Akhmatova. The exhibition is supported by a series of public programs, including family programming, lectures, and performances.
The exhibition is curated by Elisabeth Agro, Nancy M. McNeil Curator of Modern and Contemporary Craft and Decorative Arts; Dilys Blum, Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles; Amanda N. Bock, Lynne and Harold Honickman Assistant Curator of Photographs; and Jessica T. Smith, Director of Curatorial Affairs (Team Lead); with Exhibition Assistant Lily F. Scott.
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