Historic Wallpapers

In the 18th century, European and American interiors were transformed by the rise of a new kind of wall treatment. Wallpaper - mass-produced, affordable, and highly practical - reached a broader audience than fine prints and paintings. This wide distribution prompted wallpaper artists to heed the contemporary interests of the expanding consumer class. As a result, wallpaper often recorded social changes as they were expressed in the shifting relationship between high art and popular culture throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.