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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
2010s Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Textile, Wool
1990s Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s Croatian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
2010s Colombian Modern Wall Decorations
Plexiglass, Paper
2010s Colombian Modern Wall Decorations
Mirror, Wood
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1970s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Glass
20th Century Asian Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Wood
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Hungarian Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Paint
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
1930s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Paper, Giltwood
1950s Hungarian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Paint
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
2010s Colombian Modern Wall Decorations
Plexiglass, Paper
1950s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
1970s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Clay
2010s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Plexiglass