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"Bluebird" Radio

Designer Walter Dorwin Teague American
1934
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 912
The sleek design of this radio embodies the luxurious, carefree lifestyle espoused by Hollywood movies and popular music of the 1930s, which portrayed skyscraper living as the height of sophistication. Following a tantalizing advertising campaign, the Sparton Corporation unveiled four radio models—including the Bluebird—at the 1935 National Electrical and Radio Exposition in New York. With its dramatic chrome accents and bold blue glass body balanced on glossy black round feet, the Bluebird quickly became known as a masterpiece of Art Deco design.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Bluebird" Radio
  • Designer: Walter Dorwin Teague (American, Decatur, Indiana 1883–1960 Flemington, New Jersey)
  • Manufacturer: Sparton Corporation (Jackson, Michigan)
  • Date: 1934
  • Medium: Glass, chrome-plated metal, fabric, painted wood
  • Dimensions: 14 1/4 in. × 14 1/2 in. × 7 in. (36.2 × 36.8 × 17.8 cm)
  • Classification: Machines & Appliances
  • Credit Line: John C. Waddell Collection, Gift of John C. Waddell, 1998
  • Object Number: 1998.537.31
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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"Flying Buttresses", Walter Dorwin Teague American, Printed silk
"Flying Buttresses"
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"Embassy" Wine Glass (No. 4900), Walter Dorwin Teague American, Glass
"Embassy" Wine Glass (No. 4900)
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1939
"Embassy" Wine Glass (No. 4900), Walter Dorwin Teague American, Glass
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Walter Dorwin Teague
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No. 1A Gift Kodak camera box, Walter Dorwin Teague American, Metal, lacquer
No. 1A Gift Kodak camera box
Walter Dorwin Teague
Eastman Kodak Co.
1930
No. 1A Gift Kodak, Walter Dorwin Teague American, Metal, lacquer
No. 1A Gift Kodak
Walter Dorwin Teague
Eastman Kodak Co.
1930

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