Modern Wall Decorations
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Enamel
Late 20th Century North American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1960s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century German Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other
1990s Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s English Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
1990s German Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Fabric, Paper, Bamboo, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Abalone, Acrylic, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Fabric
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Silk, Plexiglass, Giltwood
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Textile
Early 2000s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Wood
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Crystal
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Argentine Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas