Modern Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Beech, Oak, Leather, Wood
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Cedar
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal, Brass
2010s Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Leather, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Textile, Wood, Hardwood
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Metal
2010s Guatemalan Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Mahogany
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Faux Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s English Modern Chairs
Marble
2010s American Modern Chairs
Walnut
1970s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Oak, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Concrete
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Beech
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Bouclé, Velvet, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Sheet Metal
20th Century North American Modern Chairs
Cherry
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s German Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Colombian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Modern Chairs
Pewter, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Modern Chairs
Lucite