Humans have always had a strong cultural bond with animals, which over millennia have featured in representations from cave paintings to fine art, the expression ranging from realistic to symbolic.

Romanticism and realism dominated from 1850 until, at the end of the century, the advent of photography and the influence of impressionism, cubism and surrealism all contributed to the changing way animals were depicted. By the 1920s Art Nouveau’s organic naturalism was replaced by Art Deco’s sleek, stylised geometric forms reflecting modernity, glamour, strength, luxury and sophistication. Influenced by technology, speed and consumerism, Art Deco was a total style movement spreading all round the world and impacting on all facets of public and individual life.