Image: Cover image of Paul Greenhalgh, Art Nouveau: The Architecture of Modern Life, HENI, London, 2025.

Art Nouveau and International Naturalism

Join leading expert, Paul Greenhalgh, as he examines the relationship between Art Nouveau and nature – a key theme in his new book Art Nouveau: The Architecture of Modern Life, published by HENI.

It’s well known that the Art Nouveau style was based in nature. Yet the way that nature was understood by the 1890’s generation was new. Changes in the perception of nature, prompted by evolutionary theory and the age of empire, underpinned Art Nouveau – the first self-consciously Modern vision of design.

Paul Greenhalgh has written widely on Art Nouveau and curated exhibitions including the major survey Art Nouveau 1890-1914, which toured internationally (2000-01). His former roles include Head of Research at the V&A; President and Director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Director of the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich; and Inaugural Director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, London.