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"Patriot"

Designer Norman Bel Geddes American
ca. 1940
Not on view
As one of America's most prolific and influential industrial designers, Norman Bel Geddes helped create the Streamlined style that defined American design throughout the 1930s and early 40s. In addition to cars, trains, and other industrial designs, Bel Geddes—who had substantial experience as a theatrical designer—created a number of memorable exhibitions for world's fairs, including the 1934 Century of Progress exhibition in Chicago and the New York World's Fair of 1939. Through these large exhibitions, Bel Geddes sought to promote both American technology and culture, thereby helping to bolster national pride during the difficult years of the Great Depression. His "Patriot" radio design of 1939 likewise features technology, in this case a radio encased within the unabashedly patriotic stars-and-stripes motif of its case, to create an optimistic and useful emblem of American technology, industry, and identity.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Patriot"
  • Designer: Norman Bel Geddes (American, Adrian, Michigan 1893–1958 New York)
  • Manufacturer: Emerson Radio and Phonograph Corp., New York
  • Date: ca. 1940
  • Medium: Green plastic: Catalin (phenol formaldehyde)Red and white plastics: cellulose acetateClear plastic: vinylchloride polymer
  • Dimensions: 8 × 11 × 6 in., 6.5 lb. (20.3 × 27.9 × 15.2 cm, 2.9 kg)
  • Classification: Machines & Appliances
  • Credit Line: John C. Waddell Collection, Gift of John C. Waddell, 2001
  • Object Number: 2001.722.11
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Stool frame
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Multiple artists/makers
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"Soda King" Syphon Bottle, Norman Bel Geddes American, Chrome-plated metal, brass, rubber
"Soda King" Syphon Bottle
Multiple artists/makers
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"Soda King" Syphon Bottle, Norman Bel Geddes American, Chrome-plated metal, brass, paint, rubber
"Soda King" Syphon Bottle
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Medal Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of General Motors
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