Wallpaper and the artist: from Dürer to Warhol

Abstract

The book examines how major artists over the last five centuries have approached wallpaper design. From Durer, who conceived his designs as seriously as he did a fine woodcut, to William Morris, who believed that wallpaper, like all good design, should transform our lives, to Andy Warhol, whose fascination with multiple images inspired brilliant parodies of the wallpaper tradition, the artists represented here reveal the rich complexity inherent in the art of pattern and form that constitutes wallpaper design.

Contents

From Dürer to Rowlandson (1500-1800) -- Before William Morris : the grammar of ornament, instruction, and illusion (1800-1860) -- William Morris and his followers : the moral power of art (1860-1895) -- The art nouveau style : the force of nature in line and form (1890-1905) -- Movements toward restraint (1900-1960) -- The art deco years : from elegance to exuberance (1910-1940) -- The wallpapers of Charles Burchfield (1921-1929) -- From surrealism to spoof : later twentieth-century artists (1950-1980) -- Art and wallpaper -- Artists' wallpapers for children (1860-1980) -- Artists' wallpapers : a guide to manufacturers and shops.