Modern Decorative 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s English Modern Decorative Art
Textile, Wool, Thread, Yarn
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Belgian Modern Decorative Art
Marble, Brass
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Belgian Modern Decorative Art
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Decorative Art
Papercord, Acrylic, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Enamel
2010s English Modern Decorative Art
Textile, Wool, Thread, Yarn
20th Century North American Modern Decorative Art
Stainless Steel
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
Late 20th Century Belgian Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Fabric
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Metal
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Fabric
2010s Ukrainian Modern Decorative Art
Wood
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Lucite
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
2010s British Modern Decorative Art
Leather
2010s Colombian Modern Decorative Art
Other
2010s Colombian Modern Decorative Art
Other
2010s British Modern Decorative Art
Leather
2010s Colombian Modern Decorative Art
Other
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Tapestry, Wool
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Concrete, Gold Leaf
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Other
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Mirror
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Resin
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Walnut
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Oak
Mid-20th Century Ecuadorean Modern Decorative Art
Silver Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Fabric, Wood
2010s Czech Modern Decorative Art
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Hardwood, Paint
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Decorative Art
Hardwood, Paint
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Other
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1970s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Belgian Modern Decorative Art
Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Paint
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s Finnish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass