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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wool
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Acrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
20th Century Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Nickel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wood, Velvet
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1990s German Modern Furniture
Slate, Stone, Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold, Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Mirror, Maple
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Metal
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Walnut
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Furniture
Bronze
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Multi-gemstone, Sterling Silver
1990s Swedish Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Murano Glass, Opaline Glass
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
20th Century Philippine Modern Furniture
Rosewood
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Porcelain, Hardwood
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Lucite, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Marble, Bronze
1990s American Modern Furniture
Composition, Brass
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Sterling Silver
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Iron
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1990s Mexican Modern Furniture
Silver
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plexiglass, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Modern Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Oak
20th Century Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
1990s German Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Marble