A historical period following the death of Queen Victoria, spanning the reign of her son King Edward VII of England (1901-1910).
The style of this era elaborated upon Art Nouveau (1890-1914), and drew upon continental Europe–in particular the golden age of the French Belle Époque–and greater travel opportunities. It was an exciting and forward looking time, a time of comfort and security that was cruelly cut short by World War. The beginnings of a new social mobility brought an attendant burgeoning awareness of social rights and the breakdown of rigid structures and the emergence of new technologies, such as electricity, were all reflected in the work artists, musicians, sculptors, architects and in couture.
The list of names from this period who are known and recognised the world over is quite a roll call. These include Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Gilbert Scott, Lutyens, Gertrude Jekyll, the Fauvist painters, Frank Lloyd Wright, Picasso, Matisse, Marconi, the Wright brothers – the revival of the neoclassical and the search for the new.
See Art Nouveau, Fauvism, toile de jouy