What Was Good Design? MOMA's Message 1944-56

At mid-century, The Museum of Modern Art played a leading role in the definition and dissemination of ‘Good Design,’ a concept that started taking shape in the 1930s and emerged with new relevance and currency in America and Europe in the decades following World War II. What Was Good Design? MoMA’s Message 1944-56 presents over 100 selections from the Museum’s collection—ranging from domestic furnishings and appliances, to textiles, sporting goods, and graphics—to illuminate the primary values of Good Design as promoted by MoMA within an international debate conducted by museums, design councils, and department stores. Iconic pieces by designers including Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Hans Wegner are shown alongside more unexpected items such as a hunting bow and a plumb bob, as well as everyday objects including an iron, a hamper, a rake, a cheese slicer, and Tupperware.