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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century North American Modern Wall Decorations
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2010s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Murano Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
1930s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
1940s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Acrylic
2010s Slovenian Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Silk, Resin
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Wall Decorations
Tapestry
2010s Indian Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Wall Decorations
Tapestry
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
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
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton, Acrylic, Paper
1990s Romanian Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Art Glass, Mirror
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
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1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal, Wire, Stainless Steel, Bronze, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Onyx, Stainless Steel, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Art Glass, Fiberglass, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Art Glass, Fiberglass, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Carrara Marble, Granite, Onyx, Gold Leaf, Stainless Steel, Brass
Late 20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Wall Decorations
Paper