24/08/2026
As I spend a week painting West Dean College I have been enjoying going through their extensive library and discovering paintings which depict wallpaper and painted walls. Here are the first group to share which are both historically interesting and inspiring. What better place to discover beautiful colour palettes and schemes than through the history of art!
1. Tea in the Bedsitter by Harold Gilman (1876-1919)
Kirklees Museums and Galleries
2. Marigolds (The Bower Maiden, Fleur-de-Marie) 1874 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)
Nottingham City Museums & Galleries
3. N**e Against the Light by Pierre Bonnard 1908
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
4. Portrait of Mlle. L. L., 1864 by James Tissot (1836-1902)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
5. The Black Brunswicker, 1860 by John Everett Millais (1829-1896)
The Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
6. N**e in an Interior c. 1935 by Pierre Bonnard (1867 - 1947)
7. La manicure by Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940)
Southampton City Art Gallery
8. Shopping List by Harold Gilman (1876–1919), c.1912, from British Council Collection