Off the Wall celebrates wallpaper as an inventive yet often disregarded decorative art. Fragile, fashionable, and easily replaced, wallpaper has frequently vanished from the historical record. From French artist Maurice Denis to American artist Jessie Arms Botke, this exhibition presents the creative processes behind wallpaper design, stressing the artists, techniques, and cultural influences that defined its production across time. Featuring wallpaper samples, paintings by wallpaper designers, and prints created on the backs of discarded papers, Off the Wall reveals how this ephemeral medium has shaped interiors, reflected changing tastes, and inspired generations of artists.

Thanks to the members, donors, grantors, and sponsors who support exhibitions and programs.

Exhibitions and programs are supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Marketing is supported in part by City of Wausau Room Tax funds.

Images: (top) Jessie Arms Botke, Toucans Among Flowers, undated, oil and gold leaf on panel, Museum purchase with tribute funds, (left behind) George Herzog, Bird and Roses, 1887, oil on panel, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation, (left front) Maurice Denis, The Doves, ca. 1893, pencil watercolor and gouache on paper, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

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