Mid Century Hanging Mobile
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1960s Chilean Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Copper, Enamel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Natural Fiber, Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Hollywood Regency Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Shell
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculpt...
Aluminum
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Chrome
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Wire
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Indian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Historical Memorabilia
Paper
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze, Nickel
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Steel
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Iron, Wrought Iron, Gold Leaf, Metal
People Also Browsed
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
2010s Austrian Jugendstil Chandeliers and Pendants
Silk
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Post-Modern North and South American Rugs
Wool
1970s Modern Still-life Prints
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures
Acrylic, Plastic, Wood, Varnish
Antique 19th Century American Native American Native American Objects
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Mexican Folk Art Animal Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mexican Folk Art Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Brutalist Garden Ornaments
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
Vintage 1980s Kinetic Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s Mexican Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Oak, Hardwood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary English Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Crystal, Stainless Steel
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Stoneware
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Mobiles and Kineti...
Stoneware
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Chrome, Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal, Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s British Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
2010s British Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Mid-20th Century American Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Cut Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Ceramic
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass, Copper
Vintage 1960s Hungarian Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Earthenware
Vintage 1950s French Chandeliers and Pendants
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
Vintage 1970s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
Wire
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s American Industrial Cabinets
20th Century American Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Brass, Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage 1960s Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Enamel, Brass
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Toys
Tin
2010s British Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Scul...
Tin, Wire
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Ki...
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bamboo
Vintage 1980s French Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Scul...
Bronze
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Scul...
Bronze
Vintage 1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Scul...
Bronze
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Scul...
Bronze
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Scul...
Bronze
1990s French Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Steel, Lead
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze, Copper, Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures
Bronze
Mid Century Hanging Mobile For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Mid Century Hanging Mobile?
A Close Look at Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Read More
How Noguchi Elevated Ashtrays to Objets d’Art
Smoking might have fallen out of fashion, but these ashtrays have enduring design appeal.
Jeff Andrews Captures Old Hollywood Glamour in His Cinematic Spaces
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
Tapio Wirkkala Bucked the Trends of Mid-Century Nordic Design
The Finnish talent created nature-inspired pieces, from furniture to jewelry, with phenomenal staying power.