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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s American Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Travertine, Onyx, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Onyx
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Hardwood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Cement
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Suede
21st Century and Contemporary African Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1870s French Antique Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Modern Furniture
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Palisander
18th Century Italian Antique Modern Furniture
Plastic
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass, Nickel
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Oak
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1990s French Modern Furniture
Laminate
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s British Modern Furniture
Cotton, Beads
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1990s Danish Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Metal
20th Century North American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Swedish Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1990s English Modern Furniture
Fabric, Oak
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Lucite
Mid-20th Century American Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s Hong Kong Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic
2010s South African Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass
1950s Finnish Vintage Modern Furniture
Birch
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Rock Crystal
1950s Finnish Vintage Modern Furniture
Birch
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Terracotta
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
1930s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Tunisian Modern Furniture
Palmwood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Upholstery