Mid Century Decor
Mid century decor brings together oil paintings, desk accessories and globes shaped by twentieth century design movements and earlier periods.
Mid Century Decor
Mid century decor spans paintings, wall art, oil paintings, desk accessories, decorative sculptures, candlesticks and globes from periods including the 1950s, 1960s, 1940s, 1920s, 1930s, Victorian, 19th century and 18th century.
Buyers searching for mid century decor encounter paintings on canvas and board alongside brass candlesticks, leather desk ornaments and paper mache globes.
The selection ranges from mid-century modern and mid-century British pieces to earlier Victorian and 20th century eclectic items.
How they were made
Makers utilised wood, glass, canvas, paper, oil paint and brass to construct these objects.
Paintings employ oil on canvas, oil paint and mixed media, while decorative items involve seamed bronze, brass and leather.
Mid Century Decor Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for mid century decor among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Leather elephants and rhinoceroses stand ready to hold stationery on mid-century desks.
What varies in quality
The standard of execution in the painted works depends upon brushwork control and compositional balance within portraits and landscapes.
Material integrity distinguishes solid brass and bronze objects from lighter metal or paper substitutes.
Lionel Ellis·Hermes Paris·Sir Peter Markham Scott·Denis Mitchell·James Tower·Helen Layfield Bradley·Gabriel Dauchot·Dion Pears
The Mid Century Decor Glossary
- Oil painting
- A work executed with pigments bound in a medium of drying oil, typically displayed on canvas or board.
- Impasto
- Paint applied in thick layers that stand out from the surface, creating texture visible in landscape and still life works.
- Globe
- A spherical map of the Earth mounted on an axis, found in paper mache and other materials.
- Desk accessory
- Functional items placed upon a desk, including magnifying glasses, magnifying glass handles and paperweights.
- Candlestick
- A holder designed to support a candle, formed from metals such as brass and bronze.
Mid Century Decor: Frequently Asked Questions
What defines mid century decor?
Mid century decor encompasses furnishings, paintings and decorative objects produced primarily during the middle decades of the twentieth century.
The category also includes earlier antique pieces that complement twentieth century aesthetic sensibilities.
How were oil paintings constructed?
Artists applied oil paint to prepared canvas, board or panel supports using brushes and palette knives.
Protective layers of varnish were frequently added once the pigment dried completely.
Where were globes placed?
Globes served as educational tools and study ornaments on library tables, desks and cabinetry.
Their terrestrial details provided reference for navigation and geography.
How do you display candlesticks?
Pairs of candlesticks were traditionally positioned on mantelpieces, sideboards and dining tables to provide illumination.
They function as decorative sculptural elements when unlit.