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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Mid-20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
2010s Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
2010s Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Metal, Brass
1950s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
2010s Modern Wall Decorations
Resin
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Crystal, Brass
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Other
1960s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other
2010s French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
2010s Brazilian Modern Wall Decorations
Quartz, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
1990s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic
Late 20th Century North American Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Plexiglass, Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Masonite, Paint
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Stoneware, Rope
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1990s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s Brazilian Modern Wall Decorations
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood
1970s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint, Clay
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Stoneware, Rope
2010s Korean Modern Wall Decorations
Hardwood
1980s Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
2010s Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton, Linen
2010s Australian Modern Wall Decorations
Aluminum
2010s Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paint