Designing women : gender, modernism and interior decoration in Sydney, c1920-1940

Abstract

The thesis examines aspects of interior decoration in Sydney c1920-1940 with particular reference to gender and modernism. The role Australian women played in producing and promoting modem art and design in this period has received considerable attention, but there has been no study of their interest in interior design. The thesis does not aim to provide a comprehensive history of interior decoration per se, but examines the interaction between socially-constructed definitions of femininity, modernity and decorative art and design