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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Crystal, Brass
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Clay, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint, Giltwood, Wood
1960s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Scrap Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Modern Wall Decorations
Leather
1980s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1960s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
1960s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1990s Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Other
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Granite, Stainless Steel
1990s German Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Linen, Paper
Early 2000s Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Scrap Wood
1960s Bulgarian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s Colombian Modern Wall Decorations
Plexiglass, Mirror, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1990s French Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Beech, Plywood, Paint