Modern Toys and Dolls
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
1990s Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic, Paper
1980s Hong Kong Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak
1990s Norwegian Modern Toys and Dolls
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys and Dolls
Other
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
Early 2000s German Modern Toys and Dolls
Resin, Fiberglass, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
1990s French Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Fabric, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Toys and Dolls
Wood
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic, Rubber
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
1990s French Modern Toys and Dolls
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Mahogany, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys and Dolls
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
20th Century North American Modern Toys and Dolls
Oak, Maple
1960s German Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Leather, Jute
1960s German Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Leather, Jute
1960s German Vintage Modern Toys and Dolls
Leather, Jute