Unique Furniture Makers
Mid-20th Century American Chippendale Dressers
Cherry
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Serving Pieces
Ceramic
Early 20th Century South Korean Other Furniture
Brass
Recent Sales
German Dining Room Chairs
Vintage 1950s British Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Mahogany, Sycamore
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Wood
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Glass
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Earthenware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Earthenware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Earthenware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Earthenware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware, Resin
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Terracotta
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Earthenware
Vintage 1940s British Folk Art Outsider and Self Taught Art
Plywood
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Terracotta
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Terracotta
Vintage 1930s British Nautical Objects
Brass
Antique 1810s Austrian Biedermeier Table Lamps
Gesso, Wood
Vintage 1980s English Post-Modern Chairs
Maple
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Rosewood
Late 20th Century French French Provincial Decorative Boxes
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Terracotta
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Clay
2010s American Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Earthenware
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Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Cabinets
Oak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Teak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Bedroom Sets
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American French Provincial Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Walnut
20th Century Italian Spanish Colonial Dressers
Cherry
Late 20th Century Unknown American Classical Dressers
Maple
Antique 1880s Eastlake Dressers
Cherry
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Wood, Mahogany
2010s New Zealand Modern Table Lamps
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Scandinavian Modern Night Stands
Teak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
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Mid-20th Century American Federal Dressers
Mirror, Cherry
Early 20th Century American Empire Dressers
Wood
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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.