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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Natural Fiber, Burl
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Silk
1990s British Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal, Brass, Stainless Steel, Wire
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
2010s North American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Leather, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Brass, Steel
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton
1990s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1980s Cuban Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Leather, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
Late 20th Century Uzbek Modern Wall Decorations
Metallic Thread
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Fabric
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Masonite
20th Century German Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Linen
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton
Late 20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood
1960s Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other