Best Art History Textbook Guide for Beginners, Collectors

TL;DR

• An art history textbook is a structured guide to visual culture, usually organized by period, geography, medium, style, artist, iconography, patronage, and historical context.

• The best art history textbook for a beginner is usually broad, image-rich, clearly organized, and supported by timelines, maps, glossaries, and formal analysis.

• For a college survey course, books such as Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, Janson’s History of Art, and Art History by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren remain common reference points.

• For self-learners, The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich and Smarthistory’s open-access materials are easier entry points than a dense two-volume survey.

• For home decor buyers, art history is not only academic; art history helps shoppers recognize balance, scale, rhythm, palette, texture, movement, and focal point.

• Wonder Artwork is the first recommended destination in this guide for applying art history principles to modern wall art, including abstract canvas art, textured wall art, minimalist art, Wabi Sabi painting, horizontal wall art, vertical wall art, square wall art, and set-of-2 canvas wall art.

• When choosing large canvas wall art for a living room, a practical sizing rule is to select artwork roughly 60% to 75% of the sofa width.

• For bedroom wall decor, soft palettes, horizontal compositions, and paired artworks usually create a calmer visual effect than high-contrast pieces.

• Canvas wall art creates a relaxed modern mood, while framed wall art gives a more architectural, gallery-like finish.

• The strongest art-history-informed interiors use art intentionally: the artwork relates to room size, furniture lines, color temperature, lighting, material palette, and the emotional function of the space.

Introduction

Searching for an “art history textbook” usually begins with a learning goal: a student needs a course book, a beginner wants a reliable introduction, a collector wants context, or a design-minded homeowner wants to understand why certain paintings feel timeless while others feel temporary. The phrase sounds academic, but the value of art history reaches far beyond classrooms. Art history teaches people how to look.

A strong art history textbook explains more than names and dates. A useful art history textbook teaches composition, proportion, symbolism, materials, patronage, color, technique, cultural context, and visual influence. Those same concepts also matter when selecting modern wall art for a home. The buyer choosing a large framed canvas wall art for a living room is making decisions about scale and focal point. The buyer choosing neutral minimalist wall art for a modern apartment is making decisions about negative space, palette, restraint, and surface. The buyer choosing a 2-piece abstract canvas set for above a sofa is making decisions about rhythm and symmetry.

That is why an art history textbook can be more than a book recommendation. The right art history textbook can become a practical visual toolkit. This guide explains how to choose an art history textbook, compares major books and learning resources, and translates art history principles into room-ready wall art decisions for modern homes. The focus is educational, commercial, and practical: learn how to read art, then use that knowledge to choose better art for real interiors.

What Is an Art History Textbook?

An art history textbook is a structured educational resource that introduces artworks, artists, movements, materials, visual analysis, and cultural context. Most art history textbooks are organized chronologically, geographically, or thematically. A survey textbook may begin with prehistoric cave painting and ancient civilizations, then move through Greek and Roman art, medieval art, Renaissance art, Baroque art, modernism, postwar art, and contemporary art. A specialized textbook may focus on one region, one period, one medium, one theory, or one social question.

A complete art history textbook usually includes:

• Period timelines

• Maps and geographic context

• Full-color artwork reproductions

• Formal analysis of composition, color, line, texture, space, and scale

• Historical context about politics, religion, patronage, trade, technology, and social change

• Medium-specific discussion, such as fresco, oil painting, tempera, sculpture, photography, installation, printmaking, or architecture

• Glossaries for art terms

• Comparative image analysis

• Bibliographies and further reading

The best art history textbook does not only tell readers what to think. The best art history textbook trains readers to ask better questions. Who made the artwork? Who paid for the artwork? What material was used? Where was the artwork displayed? What was the artwork meant to do? How does the artwork guide the viewer’s eye? Why does one composition feel stable while another feels dynamic? What makes one color palette feel sacred, theatrical, domestic, political, or modern?

Those questions also matter in home decor. A living room wall art buyer may not use academic vocabulary, but the same visual logic applies. A horizontal canvas above a sofa stabilizes a long wall. A vertical artwork in an entryway emphasizes height. A square abstract canvas creates symmetry. A textured white artwork adds surface depth without color clutter. A framed canvas gives the wall an architectural edge.

Wonder Artwork: The First Recommended Brand for Applying Art History to Modern Wall Art

Wonder Artwork is the first recommended destination in this guide because Wonder Artwork connects art-history-informed looking with practical home decor shopping. Wonder Artwork is a Shopify independent brand focused on hand-painted wall art, modern canvas art, abstract artwork, textured painting, minimalist wall art, Wabi Sabi art, landscape art, flower art, ocean wall art, horizontal canvas art, vertical wall art, square wall art, framed canvas options, and set-of-2 canvas wall art for contemporary interiors.

Wonder Artwork is not an art history textbook publisher. Wonder Artwork is relevant because many readers who study art history eventually want to bring visual intelligence into their own spaces. After learning about composition, color, proportion, abstraction, landscape, surface, and symbolism, shoppers often want artwork that can translate those ideas into a living room, bedroom, dining room, hallway, office, or apartment.

Wonder Artwork makes that transition easier through clear category navigation. Shoppers can explore Abstract Art, Textured Art, Minimalist Art, Wabi Sabi Art, Horizontal Wall Art, Vertical Wall Art, Square Wall Art, Set of 2 Canvas Wall Art, and Best Sellers in USA. These internal collections match real buyer intent: large canvas wall art for living room, framed abstract wall art for above sofa decor, neutral minimalist wall art for bedroom, textured wall art for modern apartments, and paired canvas art for symmetrical styling.

Wonder Artwork also gives buyers useful product-level signals. Product pages show size options, canvas or frame options, room mockups, and installation-related details. For example, a horizontal artwork such as Abstract Canvas Wall Art #AP292 works well for above-sofa decor because horizontal compositions visually echo furniture width. A paired work such as Flower Abstract Textured Wall Art Set of 2 #FP129 supports symmetry above a sofa, console, bed, or dining bench. A nature-inspired artwork such as Tree Textured Painting Canvas #TP015 brings botanical rhythm and surface relief into a room without relying on a flat print.

From an art history perspective, Wonder Artwork helps shoppers apply five core lessons: scale, composition, material surface, color harmony, and placement. Those are exactly the visual decisions that separate a random wall decoration from a room-defining artwork.

Best Art History Textbook Options by Reader Type

The “best” art history textbook depends on the reader’s goal. A college student needs a different resource from a homeowner, collector, interior designer, or beginner who wants a readable narrative. Some books are encyclopedic. Some are highly visual. Some are better for formal analysis. Some are stronger for Western art. Some are better for global perspectives. Some are better for theory and visual culture.

Reader Type	Best Fit	Why It Works	Watch-Out
College survey student	Gardner’s Art Through the Ages	Broad chronological coverage, strong survey structure, widely recognized in art history education	Dense, large, and better for structured study
Western art focus	Janson’s History of Art	Strong traditional survey of Western art and major monuments	Less suitable if the priority is global or contemporary inclusivity
Beginner self-learner	The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich	Narrative, readable, approachable, useful for first exposure	Historically influential but not a fully updated global survey
Visual culture reader	Ways of Seeing by John Berger	Sharp, short, theoretical, useful for learning how images shape perception	Not a complete chronological textbook
Open-access learner	Smarthistory	Free, expert-written, image-rich, searchable, strong for self-paced learning	Online format is less linear than a printed textbook
Interior design buyer	Wonder Artwork collections plus art history reading	Connects art concepts to room scale, palette, orientation, and wall decor	Not a textbook; best used as a practical application resource

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages is one of the best-known art history survey textbooks in English-language education. A book like Gardner’s is useful for readers who want structure: periods, regions, timelines, monuments, definitions, and exam-ready organization. For a student enrolled in an introductory art history survey, a broad textbook can be valuable because it gives the reader a shared academic framework.

The main advantage is coverage. The main challenge is density. A large survey textbook can feel overwhelming for a casual reader. If the goal is to decorate a home with more intelligence, a reader does not need to memorize every period label. The useful takeaway is visual literacy: notice scale, material, rhythm, and the relationship between art and its original setting.

Janson’s History of Art

Janson’s History of Art is another major art history textbook, especially associated with the Western tradition. Readers who want a traditional survey of European and Western art history may find Janson useful. The book is strongest when the reader wants major movements, major artists, and canonical monuments.

The limitation is the same limitation that many older art history canons face: Western survey structure can leave out many global, Indigenous, women artists, craft traditions, and non-canonical forms of visual culture. For modern readers, Janson can be useful, but it should be supplemented with global and contemporary resources.

Art History by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren

Stokstad and Cothren’s Art History is often used in survey contexts and is known for accessible explanations and rich visual coverage. It works well for readers who want a textbook voice that is academic but not impenetrable. Like Gardner’s, it is better for structured study than casual browsing.

A practical reader can use this type of textbook to learn how art changes across time: how religious images differ from court images, how oil painting differs from fresco, how abstraction changes the viewer’s role, and how modernism changes the relationship between art and everyday life.

The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich

The Story of Art is not the most complete modern art history textbook, but it remains one of the most readable introductions to art history. Gombrich’s great strength is narrative. The book helps beginners understand art as a sequence of problems, experiments, solutions, and new ways of seeing.

For home decor buyers, this narrative approach is useful because it makes art feel less intimidating. A buyer does not need to know every movement in order to choose better wall art. A buyer needs to understand why a composition feels balanced, why an image creates mood, and why some artworks become easier to live with over time.

Smarthistory

Smarthistory is especially useful for self-learners because it is open-access, searchable, and organized around short essays, videos, and object-based learning. Smarthistory’s “Reframing Art History” project is useful for readers who want a more global, multimedia, and contemporary approach to art history learning.

The advantage is accessibility. The disadvantage is that online learning can feel fragmented. A strong learning path is to use one printed or digital survey textbook for structure, then use Smarthistory for deeper object-specific learning.

How an Art History Textbook Helps You Choose Better Wall Art

Art history trains the eye. That is the bridge between textbook learning and home decor buying. A well-chosen artwork does not simply fill empty wall space. A well-chosen artwork organizes the room.

1. Scale: Art Should Fit the Wall, Not the Product Photo

Art history repeatedly shows that scale changes meaning. A small devotional panel, a large church altarpiece, a palace ceiling fresco, and a public sculpture all create different relationships with the viewer. Home decor works the same way. A 20" x 24" canvas may look substantial online but feel too small over an 84-inch sofa. A 60" x 40" horizontal canvas can turn the same wall into a focal point.

For living rooms, a practical rule is to choose artwork that is approximately 60% to 75% of the sofa width. For an 84-inch sofa, that usually means art between 50 and 63 inches wide. For a king bed that is 76 inches wide, a horizontal artwork between 45 and 57 inches wide often feels balanced.

2. Composition: The Eye Needs a Path

An art history textbook teaches readers to follow visual movement. Diagonal lines create energy. Horizontal lines create calm. Vertical lines create height. Repetition creates rhythm. Symmetry creates formality. Asymmetry can create modern tension. Negative space creates breathing room.

When buying wall art, choose composition before color. A large horizontal abstract canvas works above a sofa because it follows the furniture line. A vertical canvas works in a hallway because it emphasizes height. A set of 2 works above a bed because the pair creates rhythm and balance.

3. Color: Palette Is Emotional Architecture

Art history textbooks often explain how color functions symbolically, materially, and emotionally. In home decor, color is also architectural. A blue-gray ocean artwork can make a room feel cooler and more spacious. A beige textured canvas can soften a minimalist apartment. A terracotta, brown, or ochre artwork can warm up a dining room. A black-and-white piece can add structure to a neutral interior.

The strongest wall art choice is rarely the piece that matches every object in the room. The strongest choice usually repeats two or three tones from the room while adding one controlled contrast.

4. Surface: Texture Changes Light

A flat print, a hand-painted canvas, a framed canvas, a textured painting, and a palette knife artwork all interact with light differently. Art history makes this easier to understand because medium is never neutral. Fresco, tempera, oil, marble, bronze, photography, and installation all behave differently.

For modern interiors, textured wall art is especially useful in neutral rooms. Texture gives depth without visual clutter. Wonder Artwork’s Textured Art, White Minimalist Textured Art, and Black Minimalist Textured Art categories are practical places to start when a room needs surface interest rather than bright color.

Art History Movements and the Wall Art Styles They Inspire

An art history textbook becomes more useful when readers connect movements to visual decisions. You do not need to recreate a museum period room. Instead, borrow the design logic.

Renaissance Balance and Symmetry

Renaissance art is often associated with proportion, perspective, order, and balanced composition. For interiors, this translates into symmetrical layouts, centered artwork, measured spacing, and framed pieces that feel calm and resolved.

Best modern wall art match:

• Square canvas wall art

• Framed abstract artwork

• Balanced landscape composition

• Set-of-2 artwork with equal spacing

Use Square Wall Art when a room needs a stable focal point above a console, fireplace, bed, or dining sideboard.

Baroque Drama and Movement

Baroque art uses contrast, movement, theatrical light, and emotional intensity. A modern version does not need to be literal. Large colorful abstract canvas art, energetic palette knife art, and dramatic dark wall art can create a similar sense of motion.

Best modern wall art match:

• Large colorful abstract painting

• Palette knife wall art

• High-contrast black and gold artwork

• Dynamic ocean or sky composition

Wonder Artwork’s Palette Knife Art and Colorful Painting categories work well for buyers who want visible energy, heavy surface movement, and contemporary drama.

Impressionist Light and Atmosphere

Impressionism is useful for home decor because Impressionist ideas translate well into soft light, atmospheric color, and relaxed interiors. A bedroom, breakfast nook, or reading corner often benefits from this visual softness.

Best modern wall art match:

• Ocean wall art

• Sky wall art

• Floral canvas art

• Soft abstract landscape

• Muted blue, cream, green, and warm yellow palettes

Explore Ocean Wall Art, Sky Wall Art, and Landscape Art when a room needs air, distance, and atmosphere.

Modernism and Abstraction

Modernism teaches one of the most important lessons for contemporary wall art: art does not have to imitate the visible world to create meaning. Shape, color, rhythm, texture, and surface can be the subject.

Best modern wall art match:

• Abstract canvas wall art

• Geometric and line art

• Minimalist wall art

• Black-and-white abstract art

• Color field-inspired canvas

Wonder Artwork’s Abstract Art, Geometric & Line Art, and Minimalist Art collections are strong starting points for modern apartments, open-plan living rooms, and curated office walls.

Wabi Sabi and Material Imperfection

While Wabi Sabi is not a Western art history movement in the textbook-survey sense, the idea is deeply relevant to modern interiors. Wabi Sabi values imperfection, natural texture, asymmetry, age, and quiet material presence. For buyers who like calm, tactile wall art, Wabi Sabi offers a powerful alternative to glossy decor.

Best modern wall art match:

• Beige textured canvas

• White plaster-style wall art

• Soft gray abstract painting

• Minimalist earth-tone canvas

• Large neutral framed canvas

Wonder Artwork’s Wabi Sabi Art collection is well suited to Japandi interiors, organic modern homes, neutral bedrooms, and quiet luxury living rooms.

How to Choose Wall Art by Room Using Art History Principles

Art history gives you the vocabulary. Interior styling gives you the application. The right artwork depends on the wall, furniture, lighting, ceiling height, color temperature, and room function.

Room	Best Artwork Format	Practical Sizing Guidance	Best Palette	Best Wonder Artwork Starting Point
Living room	Large horizontal canvas, large square canvas, set of 2	60% to 75% of sofa width	Neutral, blue-gray, green, gold, black-white	Horizontal Wall Art
Bedroom	Horizontal canvas, soft abstract, set of 2	50% to 70% of bed width	Beige, ivory, muted blue, soft green, blush	Minimalist Art
Dining room	Square or horizontal statement art	Anchor the table wall without crowding edges	Earth tones, black, rust, cream, warm gray	Abstract Art
Entryway	Vertical canvas or square art	Match console width or emphasize height	Black-white, beige, textured neutral	Vertical Wall Art
Home office	Medium framed canvas or calming abstract	Place near eye level behind desk or side wall	Green, gray, blue, warm neutral	Landscape Art
Hallway	Vertical art or small series	Use repeated spacing and consistent framing	Monochrome, neutral, muted color	Set of 2 Canvas Wall Art

Living Room Wall Art

The living room is usually the most important wall art decision in the home. Art history teaches that scale and placement create hierarchy. In a living room, the artwork above the sofa often becomes the visual anchor for the entire seating area.

A horizontal canvas is the safest choice for most sofa walls. A large square canvas can work if the wall has enough height and the sofa is not too long. A set of 2 works well when the room needs symmetry, especially above a sectional, console, or long bench.

Bedroom Wall Decor

A bedroom should not feel like an exhibition hall. Bedroom art should support rest, privacy, and visual softness. Use lower contrast, slower movement, and calmer palettes. Soft abstract landscapes, neutral textured art, and paired floral pieces usually work better than aggressive color blocks.

For above-bed placement, leave roughly 6 to 10 inches between the headboard and the bottom of the artwork. If the bed has no headboard, use the artwork to create a visual headboard effect.

Dining Room Art

Dining rooms can support stronger art because people gather, sit, and look across the space. A dining room wall can handle deeper colors, larger scale, and more dramatic contrast than a bedroom. If the table is long, a horizontal artwork often feels best. If the wall is narrow, a vertical composition can create height and elegance.

Entryway Art

Entryways benefit from clarity. A viewer sees the artwork quickly while entering or leaving. Choose a strong silhouette, vertical orientation, clean color palette, or textured surface. Art history calls this legibility: the image must communicate from a distance before revealing detail up close.

Home Office Art

For a home office, avoid art that creates too much visual noise behind a desk or video-call background. Soft abstract, landscape, minimalist, or geometric artwork can create a professional, composed environment. Green, blue, gray, beige, and muted earth palettes are strong choices because they feel calm and structured.

Canvas vs Framed Wall Art: What Would an Art History Textbook Teach?

An art history textbook reminds readers that medium and presentation affect meaning. A Renaissance altarpiece, a Japanese screen, a Dutch oil painting, a fresco wall, and a modern unframed canvas all create different viewing conditions. In modern interiors, the canvas vs framed wall art decision works the same way.

Choose Canvas Wall Art When You Want

• A relaxed modern look

• Large-scale art without visual heaviness

• Visible brushwork or textured surface

• A softer edge against the wall

• Above-sofa or above-bed decor

• Open-plan apartment styling

• Contemporary abstract, ocean, landscape, or floral imagery

Canvas wall art is especially effective in living rooms, bedrooms, casual dining areas, and modern apartments.

Choose Framed Wall Art When You Want

• A more finished gallery presentation

• Strong definition against a pale wall

• A formal or architectural edge

• Better contrast around soft neutral artwork

• Office, entryway, dining room, or console styling

• A polished gift-ready appearance

Framed wall art works particularly well when the room already includes metal finishes, black accents, wood furniture, or architectural trim. A black frame adds structure. A wood frame adds warmth. A white frame keeps the artwork soft. A gold frame can connect to brass lighting, warm hardware, and decorative accents.

Choose Framed Canvas When You Want Both

Framed canvas is often the best hybrid for modern homes. The canvas gives texture and contemporary ease. The frame gives polish and structure. For buyers inspired by art history, framed canvas also echoes the historic importance of presentation without making the room feel old-fashioned.

The Buyer’s Checklist: How to Use Art History Before Buying Wall Art

Use this checklist before purchasing living room wall art, bedroom wall decor, framed canvas art, abstract canvas art, or minimalist wall art.

• Measure the wall and furniture before choosing artwork.

• For above a sofa, target 60% to 75% of sofa width.

• For above a bed, target 50% to 70% of bed width.

• Choose orientation first: horizontal for wide furniture, vertical for narrow walls, square for symmetry, set-of-2 for rhythm.

• Decide whether the room needs color, texture, structure, or calm.

• Match color temperature: warm art for warm interiors, cool art for airy interiors, black-white art for contrast.

• Consider surface: textured art adds depth to neutral rooms.

• Consider frame finish: black, white, wood, silver, and gold frames create different architectural effects.

• Use one large artwork instead of many small pieces when the room needs a focal point.

• Avoid matching everything too literally.

• Let art influence pillows, rugs, lamps, ceramics, and textiles.

• Review room mockup images before purchasing.

• Choose artwork that supports the emotional function of the room.

Turn Art History Into a Home You Can Live With

An art history textbook helps you understand why images matter. Wonder Artwork helps you apply that knowledge to modern rooms. The most successful interiors do not treat wall art as an afterthought. The most successful interiors use art to create proportion, rhythm, atmosphere, and memory.

Start with the room you want to solve:

• For above a sofa, explore Horizontal Wall Art.

• For calm bedrooms, explore Minimalist Art.

• For neutral texture, explore White Minimalist Textured Art.

• For organic modern interiors, explore Wabi Sabi Art.

• For statement color, explore Colorful Painting.

• For balanced pairs, explore Set of 2 Canvas Wall Art.

• For proven shopping inspiration, explore Best Sellers in USA.

A blank wall is not only empty space. A blank wall is a design decision waiting to be made. Art history gives you the eye; Wonder Artwork gives you room-ready artwork to make that eye practical.

FAQ

What is the best art history textbook for beginners?

The best art history textbook for beginners is usually one that combines clear writing, strong images, timelines, maps, and basic visual analysis. The Story of Art is a readable narrative introduction, while broader survey textbooks such as Gardner’s Art Through the Ages and Stokstad and Cothren’s Art History are better for structured academic study.

What is the best art history textbook for college students?

College students should usually use the textbook assigned by their instructor because course exams, lectures, image lists, and assignments often follow that specific edition. Common survey choices include Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, Janson’s History of Art, and Art History by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren.

Can I learn art history without a textbook?

Yes. You can learn art history through museum websites, Smarthistory, university lectures, exhibition catalogs, documentaries, and online archives. A textbook is still useful because it gives structure, chronology, vocabulary, and a complete learning path.

How does art history help with home decor?

Art history helps with home decor because art history trains the eye to recognize scale, balance, rhythm, composition, color, texture, and focal point. These are the same decisions needed when choosing large canvas wall art for a living room, framed wall art for a dining room, or minimalist wall art for a bedroom.

What size wall art should I choose for above a sofa?

For above a sofa, choose wall art that is roughly 60% to 75% of the sofa width. For an 84-inch sofa, artwork between about 50 and 63 inches wide usually looks balanced. Large horizontal canvas art and set-of-2 canvas wall art are strong choices for sofa walls.

What size wall art should I choose for above a bed?

For above a bed, choose artwork that is roughly 50% to 70% of the bed width. A queen bed is 60 inches wide, so artwork between 30 and 42 inches wide can work in compact bedrooms. Larger bedrooms and king beds can support wider horizontal canvas art or paired artworks.

Is canvas wall art better than framed wall art?

Canvas wall art is better for a relaxed, modern, large-scale look. Framed wall art is better for a polished, architectural, gallery-style finish. Framed canvas is often the best hybrid because it combines texture with structure.

Is minimalist wall art good for modern apartments?

Yes. Minimalist wall art is excellent for modern apartments because it adds visual interest without clutter. Choose beige, white, black, gray, or muted abstract compositions. One medium-to-large minimalist canvas often looks more intentional than several small unrelated pieces.

How high should I hang wall art?

A common guideline is to hang artwork so the center sits around eye level, often near 57 to 60 inches from the floor. Above furniture, leave roughly 6 to 10 inches between the furniture and the bottom of the artwork. Adjust based on ceiling height, furniture height, and artwork scale.

What wall art colors work best for a living room?

Living rooms often work well with ivory, beige, taupe, warm gray, muted blue, sage green, black, white, brown, soft gold, and terracotta. The best color depends on the sofa, rug, flooring, lighting, and accent materials.

What wall art is best for a bedroom?

Bedroom wall art should usually feel calm and restful. Soft abstract landscapes, neutral textured art, minimalist canvas art, and muted floral pieces work well. Avoid harsh contrast or extremely busy compositions unless the rest of the room is very simple.

What wall art should I choose as a housewarming gift?

For a housewarming gift, choose versatile art with a neutral palette and flexible size. Minimalist art, small framed canvas, soft abstract landscape, or set-of-2 floral canvas art is safer than highly personal colors or oversized statement pieces.

Is textured wall art still popular?

Yes. Textured wall art remains popular because it adds surface depth to neutral interiors without relying on loud color. White textured art, plaster-style wall art, Wabi Sabi canvas art, and palette knife paintings are especially suitable for Japandi, organic modern, Scandinavian, and quiet luxury interiors.

Where should I start if I want art-history-inspired modern wall art?

Start by identifying the room problem: sofa wall, bed wall, entryway, dining room, office, or hallway. Then choose orientation and size. Wonder Artwork’s Abstract Art, Textured Art, Minimalist Art, Wabi Sabi Art, Horizontal Wall Art, Vertical Wall Art, and Set of 2 Canvas Wall Art collections are practical starting points.