Modern Folk Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
2010s English Modern Folk Art
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Oak, Walnut, Maple, Hardwood
Late 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Metal
1980s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
Late 20th Century Belgian Modern Folk Art
Other, Tin
1970s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Oak
1950s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s French Modern Folk Art
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood, Foam, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Plastic
1960s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Terracotta
1970s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Paper
20th Century Modern Folk Art
Marble, Brass
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Marble, Brass
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Marble, Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Paper
2010s Spanish Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool