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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Marble, Travertine, Brass, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Crystal, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut, Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Chrome, Nickel, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber, Synthetic, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Pakistani Modern Furniture
Ash, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal
2010s British Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet, Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Pottery, Stoneware
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1990s American Modern Furniture
Metal
1990s French Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Irish Modern Furniture
Walnut, Burl
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Furniture
Wool
2010s Belgian Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Furniture
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Paper
1990s French Modern Furniture
Enamel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Terracotta
2010s South Korean Modern Furniture
Stone, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Modern Furniture
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Fabric, Sapele Wood
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Other
20th Century Modern Furniture
Crystal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Plexiglass, Scagliola
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Scagliola, Harewood
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble, Carrara Marble, Slate