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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic, Giltwood
2010s Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Fabric, Textile
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Steel, Brass
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1990s French Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Wall Decorations
Plexiglass
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
1990s Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton, Silk
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Paper
20th Century Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Grasscloth
Late 20th Century Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
2010s Turkish Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Marble
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s French Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton, Silk
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
Late 20th Century Croatian Modern Wall Decorations
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Epoxy Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Scagliola, Wood
1990s Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Other
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Faience, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1970s North American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Clay, Paint
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Marble
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Brass, Steel
1930s Mexican Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
20th Century Irish Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood
1980s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum