Making an Impact With Tapestry Art

Warmth and comfort as well as a dramatic art statement can be added to a modern home with the clever use of tapestry. Textile art has been popular in American homes for centuries and is enjoying an increased popularity with the various styles and designs available.

During the 17th and late 19th century tapestries were the height of fashion in American homes as the new wealthy sought to emulate the aspirations of the Mother country. British fashions were imported as inspiration was transported across the seas to America and fashionable homes.

Splendid tapestries imported from Europe adorned many American homes in the 17th and 19th century. Elaborate designs were more often than not found in a parlour than in the bedroom and were very much on display.

Often a European made tapestry was among the most valued items listed in a householder's possession. America's industrial revolution and urbanisation of the cities gave rise to unprecedented wealth among the elite. These included the Vanderbilts and Astors. European style homes were inspired by and modelled on palaces in the Mother country.

The new American "Royalty" liked nothing more than to display their newly acquired wealth which included the resurrection of centuries old interior fashion design. George Washington Vanderbilt's Biltmore was such a house, having two magnificent eighteenth tapestries of Vulcan and Venus as a focal feature.

At Vanderbilt Mansion the bedroom of Frederick Vanderbilt was panelled with Circassian walnut and decorated with 17th century Flemish tapestry in an echo of European aristocratic fashion.

The work of William Morris, though short lived, proved very popular as the designs of the Arts and Crafts Movement swept across both sides of the Atlantic. These very distinctive patterns and designs furnished many homes and inspired new interest in tapestry art, although this turned out to be a short lived fashion with very little alternative innovative designs appearing for several decades.

The prospect of large and unbroken walls in homes with the development of rather austere furniture saw resurgence in popularity for tapestry art in the mid 20th century. The flexible charm of tapestry art was seen as a real alternative too a framed painting, particularly where people were more mobile than before. A well selected tapestry could furnish and add warmth to a home, yet was flexible enough to be rolled up and moved where necessary.

Today many people in search of inspiration and something different for their interior design choose a tapestry as a wall hanging. The quality and detail offer a unique feature to complement any wall and the texture brings a fresh perspective to many well known artistic forms such as the medieval tapestry range.

Tapestry may not have grown in a design context in America but the availability of different styles and designs means that a prospective buyer looking to add a special feature to the home has never had more choice. It is now very easy to be creative and style a room using exquisite pieces of wall art.

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Angela Dawson-Field writes extensively on home decor and tapestry & textile art. She divides her time between family and The Tapestry House