Architect, furniture designer and educator, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a central figure in the advancement and promotion of modernist design and architectural theory and practice. Like Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, he was a hugely influential presence in the field, who shaped the course of 20th-century architecture both through his buildings and his teaching of rationalist design principles.
Born in the medieval German city of Aachen, Mies found an interest in architecture as a boy while working for his father, a master stonemason. He had no formal education as an architect, but learned his skills as an apprentice to the designer Bruno Paul, and as a staffer in the office the proto-modernist architect and designer Peter Behrens. Following World War I, Mies rose to prominence in his field amid the liberal atmosphere of the Weimar Republic. His reputation was secured by his work on the German Pavilion at the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona (commonly referred to as the Barcelona Pavilion) — which Mies codesigned with Lilly Reich, his creative and romantic partner — a radically simple, poetic, open-plan building pared down to its architectural essentials. Mies would go on to direct the Bauhaus from 1930 until 1933, when Nazi-government interference forced the closure of the progressive art and design school. Later that decade, he made his way to Chicago, where he remained for the rest of his career as a practicing architect and a dean of the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Mies’s famed dictum “less is more” grew from his belief that architecture both guides and expresses the spirit of the times, and he envisioned the 20th century as open-minded, logical, transparent and liberated by technology. His best-known buildings — residences such as the Villa Tugendhat in Czechoslovakia and the Farnsworth House in rural Illinois; skyscrapers like the 860–880 Lake Shore Drive apartment towers in Chicago and the Seagram Building in New York — reflect that philosophy. As do the most famous furniture designs authored by him or codesigned with Reich.
Pieces designed by Mies and Reich such as the Barcelona chair (the authorized version is produced by Knoll today), stools and daybed, or the cantilevered Brno chairs, deliver a maximum of comfort and support from a minimum of materials: their “lavishness” derives from the precision with which they are engineered and constructed. For the collector, the allure of Mies’s furniture is at once practical and idealistic. Useful and functional, his works embody the highest aspirations of modernism.
Find vintage Mies van der Rohe chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
| Average Sold Price |
| $4,849 |
| Styles |
| Materials |
| Related Creators |
Rare Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Pair of Model 261 lounge chairs
By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Located in Round Rock, TX
Pair of Rare Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Model 261 lounge chairs c. 1970s Originally designed in the early 1930s, later refined by Mies in 1967 for executive interiors and introduce...
Leather, Oak
$7,651 / item
H 30.71 in W 27.56 in D 27.56 in
Green Leather Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll
By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Green Leather Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll 4 Pieces Available Measurements : Height: 78 cm Width: 70 cm Depth: 70 cm Seat Height : 45 cm Please do not he...
Chrome
$4,000 / set
H 31 in W 19.5 in D 26 in
Set of Four Mies Van Der Rohe designed Knoll Dining Chairs c. 1981
By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Located in New York, NY
Exceptional set of four Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe designed dining chairs ( 3 MR 10 & 1 MR 20 ), made by Knoll circa 1981. These iconic chairs feature cantilevered tubular chrome fram...
Chrome
$6,429 / set
H 29.14 in W 29.53 in D 30.32 in
Vintage 1970s Barcelona Lounge Chairs Set of 2 by Mies van der Rohe for Knoll
By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Located in Antwerp, BE
This rare set of Barcelona chairs was designed by Architect Mies van der Rohe and Designer Lily Reich in 1929 and produced by Knoll International in the 70s labeled The Barcelona ch...
Stainless Steel, Chrome
$11,250
H 15.25 in W 78 in D 39 in
Fully Restored Knoll Barcelona Daybed by Mies van der Rohe in Edelman Leather
By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Located in Toluca Ter, CA
Authentic Barcelona Couch / Daybed, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930 and produced by Knoll in the 2000s, with a Knoll tag on the upholstery backing and imprint on one of ...
Steel, Chrome
$5,260 / set
H 30.71 in W 22.84 in D 16.93 in
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll, Set of 5 "Brno" Chairs, Italy, 1970s
By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Located in Naples, IT
A stunning and exceptionally elegant set of "Brno" cantilever chairs, a timeless icon of 20th-century design created by Bauhaus master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930 for Villa Tuge...
Steel
$11,200Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 29.5 in W 30 in D 27 in
Pair of Early Barcelona Chairs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll, circa 1955
By Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A rare and desirable pair of early Barcelona chairs designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and produced by Knoll during the formative years of auth...
Steel, Chrome
$4,750 / item
H 30.25 in W 29.5 in D 30 in
Midcentury Barcelona Chair in Special Order Stainless Steel
By Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Knoll
Located in BROOKLYN, NY
Authentic Midcentury Modern Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe for Knoll – Premium Stainless Steel Version Offered for sale is an iconic Barcelona Chair, designed by Ludwig Mies ...
Stainless Steel
| Sold Date | Sold Price | Category | Material | Creation Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| $4,849 |
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months |
| $475-$14,040 |
| Sold price range of items in the past 12 months |
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
The enduring appeal of the Barcelona chair is in the details.
Maggie and Anne Genovese, of Forsyth, teamed up with fashion designer Nikki Kule to reimagine some classic pieces.
The Windy City's Matthew Rachman Gallery takes a deep dive into the designer's practice.
Common wisdom used to declare the kitchen the hub of the house. These days, the living room seems to have assumed the role of domestic focal point. Unlike the Victorian parlor, stiffly furnished and reserved for guests, today’s living room is a central place for reading, conversation and, well, living, with furnishings that lend themselves to both casual lounging and elegant entertaining.
While designing Villa Tugendhat, the visionary architect also created some of his most iconic furniture pieces.
