Mission Impossible
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Board
1970s British Maxi Dresses
Vintage 1960s American Modern Photography
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Latex, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Antique Mid-18th Century Mexican Baroque Secretaires
Walnut
1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints
Monotype
Antique Early 1900s Organic Modern Daybeds
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
Antique Early 1900s Indonesian Tribal Daybeds
Wood, Reclaimed Wood
2010s Thai Table Lamps
Metal
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
Antique 19th Century Spanish Spanish Colonial Chairs
Rope, Wood
Early 2000s Contemporary Landscape Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Luster, Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black a...
Early 20th Century American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia
Silk
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Digital Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital, Photographic P...
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Digital, Archival Pigm...
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Digital, Archival Pigm...
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Digital Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital, Photographic P...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Digital, Archival Pigm...
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Digital, Archival Pigm...
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Figurative Sculptures
Limestone
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plywood, Oak
- 1
Mission Impossible For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Mission Impossible?
A Close Look at modern Furniture
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.
Finding the Right chairs for You
Chairs are an indispensable component of your home and office. Can you imagine your life without the vintage, new or antique chairs you love?
With the exception of rocking chairs, the majority of the seating in our homes today — Windsor chairs, chaise longues, wingback chairs — originated in either England or France. Art Nouveau chairs, the style of which also originated in those regions, embraced the inherent magnificence of the natural world with decorative flourishes and refined designs that blended both curved and geometric contour lines. While craftsmanship and styles have evolved in the past century, chairs have had a singular significance in our lives, no matter what your favorite chair looks like.
“The chair is the piece of furniture that is closest to human beings,” said Hans Wegner. The revered Danish cabinetmaker and furniture designer was prolific, having designed nearly 500 chairs over the course of his lifetime. His beloved designs include the Wishbone chair, the wingback Papa Bear chair and many more.
Other designers of Scandinavian modernist chairs introduced new dynamics to this staple with sculptural flowing lines, curvaceous shapes and efficient functionality. The Paimio armchair, Swan chair and Panton chair are vintage works of Finnish and Danish seating that left an indelible mark on the history of good furniture design.
“What works good is better than what looks good, because what works good lasts,” said Ray Eames.
Visionary polymaths Ray and Charles Eames experimented with bent plywood and fiberglass with the goal of producing affordable furniture for a mass market. Like other celebrated mid-century modern furniture designers of elegant low-profile furnishings — among them Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Finn Juhl — the Eameses considered ergonomic support, durability and cost, all of which should be top of mind when shopping for the perfect chair. The mid-century years yielded many popular chairs.
The Eameses introduced numerous icons for manufacturer Herman Miller, such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman, molded plywood dining chairs the DCM and DCW (which can be artfully mismatched around your dining table) and a wealth of other treasured pieces for the home and office.
A good chair anchors us to a place and can become an object of timeless appeal. Take a seat and browse the rich variety of vintage, new and antique chairs on 1stDibs today.
Read More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Eileen Gray’s Famed Cliffside Villa in the South of France Is Returned to Its Modernist Glory
After years of diligent restoration, E-1027, the designer-cum-architect’s marriage of romance and modernism, is finally complete.
See How New York City Designers Experiment on Their Own Homes
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Why Drew McGukin’s Colorful Home Differs from Those of His Clients
The New York–based designer has a high-impact style that's all his own, as his loft in the Chelsea Flower District makes abundantly clear.
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.
New Orleans’ Lee Ledbetter Makes Design Magic by Mixing Past and Present
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
How a Modernist Hamptons Home on the Water Became the Ideal Weekend Refuge
Damon Liss and Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects collaborated on this serene getaway for a minimalism-minded Manhattan family of four.
Desert Modern Designer Arthur Elrod Finally Gets His Day in the Sun
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.