About This Collection
Mid-century modern design is about shape before detail, and the mid-century modern art prints in this collection share that instinct across four strands.
Organic shapes and form studies. The Mid-Century Modern Form Studies series is the heart of the collection: the Palm Springs Form Studies Print, the California Form Studies Print and the Cobalt Form Studies Print arrange rounded, pebble-like forms in the kind of palette you'd expect on a 1950s textile. The Red Abstract Wave Print, the Stacked Ovals Abstract Print and the Balancing Shapes and Blue Pebble prints follow the same idea at a quieter volume.
Bauhaus and modernist posters. Mid-century design drew heavily on the Bauhaus, so the Bauhaus 1923 Print and its Circles and Pattern companions sit naturally here, alongside the grey and blue Matisse-inspired prints, whose cut-out shapes were being made in the same decade that mid-century style took hold. The full set of modernist posters is in the Bauhaus prints collection.
Retro kitchen and typography prints. The This Kitchen Dances Print in red and cream, the Squeeze The Day Orange Print, the Coffee Moka Pot Print and the Sardines and Bonjour prints bring mid-century graphic design into the kitchen. The Cosy Corner Typography Print does the same for the sofa.
Japanese posters and retro characters. The Shikoku Rainfall Print and the Okinawa Flower Show Print borrow the flat colour of vintage Japanese posters. The character prints add some retro humour: the black cat with his pumpkin mug, the Two Cats and Yoga Cat prints, and a Japanese frog who smokes with the calm of someone who has never read a health warning.
For a wider range of shapes and colour, abstract art prints and the Matisse prints collection share much of the same visual language.
What rooms suit mid-century modern wall art?
Living rooms are the natural home for this style. A large form study or the red wave print at A1 above a low sofa or sideboard gives the room the kind of anchor mid-century interiors were designed around, and a framed mid-century print in a simple frame keeps the lines clean.
Kitchens and dining rooms suit the retro typography and food prints, the most cheerful retro wall art in the collection. This Kitchen Dances and Squeeze The Day both work on a kitchen wall that gets a lot of foot traffic and could do with some optimism.
Bedrooms and home offices suit the calmer shapes. The Goldfish Bowl Print, the Water Ripple Print and the stacked stone abstracts are restful without being bland.
For gallery walls, mid-century modern posters and art prints mix well with orange prints and minimalist prints, which share the same warm palette and clean edges.
If you'd like something with more pattern and history behind it, have a look at our william morris peony print designs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is mid-century modern wall art?
Mid-century modern refers to design from roughly the mid-1940s to the late 1960s: organic shapes, clean lines, flat colour and a practical optimism about modern living. Mid-century modern wall art echoes that through abstract forms, graphic posters and retro typography, usually in warm reds and oranges or cobalt blue set against cream.
What styles of mid-century modern art prints are in this collection?
The collection includes organic shape abstracts and the Palm Springs, California and Cobalt form studies; Bauhaus 1923 prints; Matisse-inspired cut-out prints in grey and blue; retro kitchen and typography prints; Japanese vintage-style posters; and retro character prints featuring cats, a dog in a cap and a smoking frog.
Do mid-century prints suit a home that isn't retro?
Yes. Mid-century modern prints are some of the easiest to fit into a contemporary room because they rely on shape and colour rather than period detail. A single organic shape print looks just as at home above a modern grey sofa as it does above a vintage sideboard, and it tends to make a newer room feel a little warmer.
What sizes are available?
Most prints are available in sizes from 5x7 up to A1, with both metric and US paper sizes. Full size options are shown on each individual product page. For a statement piece above a sofa or sideboard, A2 and A1 suit the scale of mid-century furniture, while A4 and A3 work for kitchens and gallery walls.
Can all prints be ordered framed?
Yes. All prints can be ordered framed. We're rolling framed options out across the site, so individual listings will show whether a framed version is currently available. If you'd like a framed version of a print that doesn't yet have that option listed, get in touch and we'll sort it for you.
What is the print quality like?
Prints are produced on FSC-certified 200gsm fine art paper using a 12-colour press with a matte, glare-free finish. Flat areas of red, orange and cobalt stay even and saturated, which is what gives mid-century graphic prints their crispness.
Where do you ship and how long does delivery take?
We ship worldwide via Gelato's global print network, meaning your order is fulfilled close to where you live. Every print is made to order and dispatched promptly, then arrives within 2 to 5 business days of dispatch. Free shipping applies to US and UK orders.
