Bare Walls? Less Expensive Alternatives to the 'Mona Lisa'

They say a house isn't a home until it has art on the walls. Having something to visually grab on to in what would otherwise be an endless expanse of eggshell, bone, burnt sienna, or dangerous robot, is crucial. Still, with this whole recession and all, it can seem tricky for those of us with the kind of budget Jane Seymour was talking about to figure out how to spruce up our walls. And for that, thankfully, there's the Internet.

First up is the poster. And, no, we don't mean the college poster. We're not talking "The Kiss," or "American Girl in Italy," posters that every sophomore from the west coast to the east has lovingly and, they believe uniquely, tacked up in their dorm room. (Guilty!) We're talking old movie poster, sign of the times, emblem of a particular moment of culture. We're talking vintage poster, like the kind now exhibited in an online show of work collected by the International Vintage Poster Dealers Association.

They're calling it "Life Is Beautiful: Posters That Make You Smile," and they do.