This post was originally published on June 1, 2016. Charles Burchfield is one of the best known American watercolorists of the twentieth century, painting urban street scenes as well as more rural landscapes in a rather sullen fashion. It is less well known that he designed wallpaper, working for the M. H. Birge and Sons...
Wall-hangings throughout the centuries have come in a variety of forms and materials, tapping upon subject matter that is just as diverse. During the late 1700’s and early 1800’s scenic wallpapers came into production and swept through Europe, most notably in their place of origin, France. They are thought to have been created in a...
Author: Janice Shapiro Hussain Aptly titled “American Splendor”, this textile captures the quintessential glory of the New England autumn landscape with its fire engine-red barns, rustic wooden fences, billowing clouds, and white church steeples nestled among the distant trees. Burnt orange foliage decorates the sunny and bright rolling pastures, signaling the crisp autumn air. The...
Scenic wallpapers originated in the early years of the nineteenth century, and found a renewed popularity during the Colonial Revival movement in the early twentieth century. Many new designs in scenic papers and murals were introduced mid-century following World War II, and scenic papers did actually serve a purpose in these new homes as the...
To celebrate the opening of Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color (May 11, 2018-January 13, 2019), Object of the Day this month will feature colorful objects from the exhibition. “Landscape No. 1” is one of the RGB (red, green, blue) wallpapers designed and printed by Carnovsky. RGB is a project about the surface, or skin of...
This scenic paper depicts quite an active scene. On the right, French soldiers on horseback charge off the right edge of the paper. In the middle and in the left background, various wounded Turkish soldiers rest beside an obelisk or sit in a makeshift hospital. On the far left, three French soldiers watch as an...
This style of paper is referred to as a figural landscape or landscape figures. Wallpapers in this genre usually contain three to four different landscape views, quite often centered on a theme. They can focus on harbor views, the hunt, or more humble scenes such as this one, which might be called The Homecoming, or...
Charles Burchfield is one of the best known American watercolorists of the 20th century, painting urban street scenes as well as more rural landscapes in a rather sullen fashion. It is less well known that he designed wallpaper, working for the M. H. Birge and Sons company in Buffalo, New York, from 1921 until 1929,...
Scenic Hudson is a four-part scenic mural which captures a romantic view of the Hudson River. The lithograph printing gives the design a very soft look, almost like a watercolor, which adds to this dreamy vision. The design could be used as a mural to cover a single wall, or could be used in repeat...
