Farmhouse wall art: 12 paintings of farms, fields and animals
Hobbema’s farm in the sunlight, Stubbs’s grey horse, Monet’s snowy farm road and Pissarro’s Éragny: twelve rustic masterworks for a farmhouse kitchen or a country living room.
Farmhouse style loves natural wood, linen, stoneware and things that feel honest and lived in. Its art should feel the same: real farms, fields, barns and animals, painted by artists who knew the countryside.
Here are twelve masterpieces for a farmhouse kitchen, hall or living room, in three moods: Dutch farms, horses and hounds, and farms through the seasons. Each is shown with its colour palette, and each can be ordered as a print.
Dutch farms
Red roofs, old trees and big skies.
1. A Farm in the Sunlight
Meindert Hobbema, A Farm in the Sunlight, c. 1668. Oil on canvas.
Meindert Hobbema, the great painter of Dutch woods and farms, painted this farm in the sunlight around 1668.
Deep greens and warm brick red for a farmhouse living room.
2. A Farm
Jan Brueghel the Elder and Joos de Momper, A Farm, c. 1620. Oil on panel.
Jan Brueghel the Elder and Joos de Momper painted this busy farm together around 1620: ploughs, carts, cattle and people all at work in the fields.
A lively, detailed picture for a big farmhouse kitchen.
3. A Cottage and a Hayrick by a River
Jacob van Ruisdael, A Cottage and a Hayrick by a River, c. 1648. Oil on oak.
Jacob van Ruisdael painted this thatched cottage and hayrick around 1648, when he was barely twenty, under one of his great cloudy skies.
Muted blues and greens for a rustic sitting room.
Create your portrait in this style
4. A Country Home
Jan van der Heyden, A Country Home, 1686. Oil on panel.
Jan van der Heyden painted this country house in 1686 with his famous precision: you can count the bricks.
Warm brick and sky blue for a farmhouse hallway.
Create your portrait in this style
Horses and hounds
The animals of the farm and the stable.
5. Horses in freedom
Alfred de Dreux, Horses in freedom, c. 1850. Oil on canvas. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires.
Alfred de Dreux was the great horse painter of nineteenth century France. He painted these horses at liberty around 1850.
Warm bay brown and olive for a farmhouse study or mudroom.
Create your portrait in this style
6. A Grey Horse galloping in a field
George Stubbs, A Grey Horse galloping in a field, 1793. Oil on canvas.
George Stubbs, who knew horse anatomy better than any painter of his time, painted this grey horse in full gallop in 1793.
Olive green and grey for a country living room.
Create your portrait in this style
7. Cows Crossing a Ford
Jules Dupré, Cows Crossing a Ford, 1836. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Jules Dupré, one of the Barbizon painters who worked in the open air, painted these cows crossing a ford in 1836.
Soft greens and silver for a farmhouse kitchen.
8. A Limier Briquet Hound
Rosa Bonheur, A Limier Briquet Hound, 1856. Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Rosa Bonheur, the most famous animal painter of her day, painted this hound in 1856 with the care she gave every animal.
Warm browns for a hall, boot room or study.
Create your portrait in this style
Farms through the seasons
Snow, storms and spring blossom.
9. The Road in Front of Saint-Siméon Farm in Winter
Claude Monet, The Road in Front of Saint-Siméon Farm in Winter, 1867. Oil on canvas.
Claude Monet painted the road by the Saint-Siméon farm near Honfleur in the winter of 1867, before Impressionism had a name.
Snowy whites and greys for a calm winter wall.
10. The Cottage by the Roadside, Stormy Sky
Jules Dupré, The Cottage by the Roadside, Stormy Sky, c. 1860. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Jules Dupré painted this cottage by the road around 1860, with sunlight breaking through a gathering storm.
Moody greens and sky blue for a farmhouse living room.
11. The Lonely Farm, Nantucket
George Inness, The Lonely Farm, Nantucket, 1892. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
George Inness painted this lonely farm on the island of Nantucket in 1892, late in his life, when his landscapes became soft and spiritual.
Deep, quiet greens for a rustic bedroom.
12. Church and Farm at Éragny
Camille Pissarro, Church and Farm at Éragny, 1895. Etching and drypoint in black, with pastel, on buff laid paper. Art Institute of Chicago.
Camille Pissarro lived at Éragny in Normandy for the last twenty years of his life. He made this print of the farm and church in 1895, adding colour with pastel.
Soft greens and terracotta for a modern farmhouse.
Farmhouse pictures look best in wooden or simple black frames, hung over a sideboard, a kitchen bench or a mantel. A pair of horse or dog pictures suits a hall or a mudroom; a broad landscape suits the wall above a sofa or a long table. For more, see cottagecore decor and traditional home decor.
Questions
What wall art suits a farmhouse?
Pictures of farms, fields, barns, horses, cows and dogs, in earthy greens, browns and creams, framed in wood or black.
What colours go with farmhouse decor?
Cream, warm white, sage, olive, wood brown and soft black, with touches of barn red or sky blue.
Is old art good for a modern farmhouse?
Yes. A classic Dutch landscape or an animal painting adds warmth and history to a modern farmhouse with white walls and black fittings.
Where should I hang art in a farmhouse kitchen?
Above an open shelf, a bench or a sideboard, or lean a framed print on a shelf among stoneware and books.