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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century North American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal
2010s German Modern Wall Decorations
Beech, Plywood, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Wall Decorations
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic
2010s European Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1980s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Pine, Paint, Paper
2010s Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Mirror, Oak
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Fiberglass, Acrylic, Mirror
2010s British Modern Wall Decorations
Ash
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s British Modern Wall Decorations
Marble
Mid-20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 20th Century Mexican Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
1990s Mexican Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Iron
2010s Belgian Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1950s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1990s Mexican Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Crystal, Brass
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 1900s American Antique Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s English Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s German Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1990s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1990s Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Plexiglass
1930s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1920s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Mid-20th Century Israeli Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Paper
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Scrap Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Modern Wall Decorations
Leather
1980s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1990s Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Other
1960s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1960s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint, Paper
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Other