Modern Contemporary Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Metal
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1950s Hungarian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
1970s German Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
1970s French Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Contemporary Art
Foil
Late 20th Century Venezuelan Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
Agate, Amethyst
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Lead
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
1990s Guatemalan Modern Contemporary Art
Masonite, Lacquer
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
2010s German Modern Contemporary Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Acrylic, Paper
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paper
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Paint
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Glass
2010s Russian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
2010s Mexican Modern Contemporary Art
Stone
2010s Australian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Paper
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Paper
2010s Chinese Modern Contemporary Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Metal, Stainless Steel, Steel, Bronze, Brass, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Trinidadian Modern Contemporary Art
Paint
2010s German Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Acrylic, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Contemporary Art
Porcelain, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Acrylic, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Wool, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Paper, Acrylic
2010s Hungarian Modern Contemporary Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Wool, Cotton
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Paper
20th Century Belgian Modern Contemporary Art
Paint, Masonite
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Acrylic, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
Cotton, Paper, Acrylic