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Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively. 

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

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Style: Mid-Century Modern
Color:  Brown
Picture Frame Wood Chrome E Glass Felice Antonio Botta Italy 1970s
Located in Rome, IT
Picture frame in burl wood, chrome and glass by the Italian designer Felice Antonio Botta. Made in Italy in the 1974.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal, Chrome

Mid 20th Century Modernist Style Grey Paint Finished Picture Frame 32 x 26
Located in Atlanta, GA
A beautiful and vintage / antique early to mid 20th century circa 1940's American Modernist style paint finished picture frame. The rabbet size (size that holds the art) is 32.25" wi...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Paint, Wood

Vintage Gold Colored Open Center Frame
Located in Seattle, WA
Frame Features a Floral Motif. Possible Signature Reading JM as Pictured. Perina and Wear Consistent with Age Dimensions. 16 W ; 4 D ; 18 H
Category

1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood

Extra Large Mid Century Modern Hand-Woven Rattan Mirror Frame, Italy 1960s
Located in Beograd, RS
In this listing you will find a striking extra large Mid Century Modern Mirror rectangular Frame done in hand-woven natural ratt...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Rattan

Pink Leather Photo Frame by Fabio Ltd
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pink ostrich leather and nickel-plated picture frame by Fabio Ltd Measures: Height 10.5 inches, width 8.5 inches, depth 1 inch Photo size 5 inches by 7 inches LAST 1 in stock in Los ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Nickel

1980s Vintage Italian Picture Frame
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful Italian mid size vintage wood picture frame made in Italy 1980s.  
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood

Picture Frame Decorative Object Luigi Fontana for Fontana Arte Midcentury 1940s
Located in Palermo, IT
Double Photo frame by Luigi Fontana for Fontana Arte produced in Italy in the 1940s. The multiform photo frame has a wooden structure and decorated and ground glass with metal access...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal

Big Picture Frame in Pine Wood & Steel by Felice Antonio Botta, Italy, 1970s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
"Big Picture Frame in Pine Wood & Steel" by Felice Antonio Botta, Italy, 1970s, is a vintage Italian artwork that combines the warmth of pine w...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Pine

Vintage Small Italian Picture Frame, 1970s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage small Italian picture frame made in Italy, 1970s.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood, Lacquer

Picture Frame in Lucite, Wicker and Brass Christian Dior Style, Italy 1970s
Located in Rome, IT
Gorgeous rectangular picture frame in lucite, wicker and brass in the style of Christian Dior Home. Made in Italy in the 1970s. Perfect desk object or gift idea.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal, Brass

Midcentury M. Rega Lucite and Brass Rectangular Photo Frame Italy, 1970s
Located in Palermo, IT
Elegant rectangular photo frame in Lucite and brass. The texture of the polymeric material recalls the turtle. Base support in brass. Attributable to Romeo Rega, Italia 1970. Wear co...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Midcentury Tommaso Barbi Burl and Chrome Square Picture Frame, Italy 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Astonishing midcentury chromed brass and burl square photo frame. This beautiful piece was designed in Italy in the 1970s by Tomaso Barbi and is als...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal, Chrome

Wood and Glass Picture Frame by Alvar Aalto for Artek Italy, 1960s
Located in Rome, IT
Rectangular wooden picture frame with oval glass space for the photo by Alvar Aalto for Artek. Made in Italy in the 1960s. The original label is still attached in the back, as sh...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Glass, Wood

20th Century Ettore Sottsass Wooden Picture Frame for Il Sestante, 1960s
By Il Sestante, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Turin, Turin
Ettore Sottsass grew up in Turin, and graduated in architecture from the Turin Polytechnic in 1939. In 1947, he founded his own studio in Milan. In 1956, Sottsass moved to New York where he began working in the studio of the designer George Nelson. Back in Italy, he began important collaborations with Poltronova (1957) and Olivetti (1958). From the late 60s to the 70s he collaborated with Superstudio and Archizoom Associati, as part of the Radical Architecture movement, until the founding of the Memphis group in 1981. Ettore Sottsass has been the recipient of numerous international awards and was the winner of the ADI Compasso d'Oro Award in 1959. His works are now exhibited in the permanent collections of many museums around the world. Here we have a wooden photo frame realized for Il Sestante...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood, Glass

Vintage Murano Glass Dressing Table/Vanity Mirror, Italy, Mid 20th Century
Located in Chatham, ON
Vintage - Murano glass - dressing table/vanity mirror - all original fittings with silver leaf backed mirror - finished and hinged wood easel back (can be wall mounted) - unsigned - ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Art Glass, Mirror, Hardwood

20th Century Gabriella Crespi Round Photo Frame in Brass, 70s
Located in Turin, Turin
Born in 1922, Gabriella Crespi studies architecture at the Politecnico in Milan, where her work is permeated by her perspective on Le Corbusier’s and Frank Lloyd Wright’s design experience. Since the 50s, she has dedicated herself to the creation and worldwide circulation of furniture and other objects that balance design and sculptural abstraction. Thanks to her always original conception and ideas, to the articulated forms that meet the needs of contemporary design, and to the amazing ability to transform objects by adding openings, closings, and changes in function, Gabriella Crespi has conquered the international scene in a short time. Her creative journey still incisively inspires the expressive creativity of the current generation of artists. Here we have a round photo...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Gabriella Crespi Rare Large Signed Bamboo and Brass Picture Frame, Italy, 1970s
Located in New York, NY
Gabriella Crespi rare large round picture frame from the iconic Rising Sun series in bamboo and brass, Italy, 1970s. This elegant bamboo frame is a striking example of Crespi’s deft...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Romeo Rega Picture Frames Italian Midcentury Form the Seventies
Located in bari, IT
Very elegant rectangular photo holder in the 70s Romeo Rega style. N.B. space for photography 12 × 17.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass, Steel

1970s Mid-Century Modern Brass and Glass Italian Picture Frame by Tommaso Barbi
Located in Aci Castello, IT
An amazing solid brass picture frame designed by Tommaso Barbi and manufactured in Italy in the Seventies, it's signed on the back side, bras...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Murano Glass and Brass Picture Frame Attributed to Venini, Italy 1950s
Located in Rome, IT
A beautiful picture frame made of clear "twisted rope" Murano glass and the original wooden backrest, with brass support, attributed to Venini. Made in Italy in the 1940s.  
Category

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal, Brass

Italian Picture Frames, Circa 1960s
Located in London, GB
An elegant set of three pictures frames in burl veneer in the style of Willy Rizzo. Completely hand made impregnated with the highest quality wax oil. I...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Burl

Italian Early Twentieth Century solid Wood Frames, ebanized, 1900s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian early twentieth century solid wood frames ebanized, 1900s Beautiful and very rare carved wooden frames of different sizes from the early twentieth century. This frame are h...
Category

Early 1900s Italian Antique Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood

20th Century Pietro Chiesa Fontana Arte Photo Frame in Wood and Ground Glass 40s
Located in Turin, Turin
Photo frame designed in 40s by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. The photo frame is composed of two parts united as a "sandwich", one side is in ground glass, the back is in wood, the support is in brass. This frame is very rare for its dimensions. Perfect idea for wedding, birthday, anniversary or graduation gift...
Category

1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Large French Table Wall Picture Frame Red Faux Leather Art Deco 1940s MidCentury
Located in Nierstein am Rhein, DE
Rare french red and faint yellow to ivory color table picture frame, in the center with a typical 1950s grey and white pattern, can be dated from Art Deco period 1930s to Midcentury ...
Category

1940s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Faux Leather, Wood, Glass

1950s Vintage Perma Mirror Picture Frame Perforated Gold Metal Italy
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Italian vintage perforated gold metal mirror picture frame Italy 1950s In the style of Mathieu Mategot renowned French material artist Measures: 1...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal

Abstract Artwork by Unknown Artist, circa 1940
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Antique wood frame with red felt interior. By unnknown artist, circa 1940. In original condition, with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beautiful patina. M...
Category

1940s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Felt, Wood

Original Italian Picture Frame, 1960s
Located in London, GB
An elegant picture frame highly decorative with brown and ivory zebra stripes. It can be used horizontally and vertically. Italy 1960s.
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Plastic, Wood

Brass Picture Frame, circa 1930
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Mid-century metal picture frame. Traditionally manufactured circa 1930. In original condition with minor wear consistently of age and use, preserv...
Category

1930s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal

Set of Four Prints, Chinoiserie Oriental Geisha Ladies, Bamboo Frames
Located in Barcelona, ES
Four bamboo rectangular frames with Gheisa women prints. Spain, 1960s. Each print has a different design, all them representing japanese Gheisas different landscapes. Highly decorati...
Category

Mid-20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Bamboo, Rattan, Paper

Abstract Artwork by Unknown Artist, circa 1940
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Antique wood frame with black felt interior. By unnknown artist, circa 1940. In original condition, with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beautiful patina. Mate...
Category

1940s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Felt, Wood

Ico Parisi Italian Design Object Ashtray for Stildomuselezione
Located in Chicago, IL
A rosewood and walnut posacenere or ashtray model 1402 designed by Ico Parisi for Stildomuselezione, circa 1959. Ashtray 5" diameter x 2.75" height. Pictured in the Ice Parisi book...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Rosewood, Walnut

Italian Picture Frame in Brass, circa 1960s
Located in London, GB
An elegant pictures frame in brass in the style of Cartier. Italy 1960s.
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Picture Frame, Design Tommaso Barbi, Italy 1970
Located in Napoli, IT
Picture frame, design Tommaso Barbi, Italy 1970. Briar and nickel-plated metal. Signature engraved on the back (TM).
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal

Italian Picture Frame in Brass, Italy, 1960
Located in London, GB
An elegant Italian picture frame in brass with twisted brass decorations. The picture frame cab be used vertically or horizontally. Italy, 1960s.
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Squared Picture Frame in Laminate and Bamboo by Tommaso Barbi, Italy 1970s
Located in Rome, IT
Big squared picture frame in laminate embellished with bamboo squares by the Italian designer Tommaso Barbi. Made in Italy in the 1970s.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Bamboo, Wood, Laminate, Glass

Tiles Horse under the Moon Mid-Century, France
Located in Labrit, Landes
French decorative ceramic representing a horse under the moon Height Tiles glued on a wood board The faience is hand painted and hand made circa 1970 Good condition   L40 P1,5 ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Faience, Wood

Italian Pictures Frame, circa 1970s
Located in London, GB
An elegant rectangular Italian Pictures Frame in wood and chrome, circa 1970s.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Chrome

Mid-Century Italian Picture Frame, 1980s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian picture frame made with wood and brass details.  
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Mid-Century Modern Madonna with Child Murano Glass Torchon Frame by Venini, 50s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Murano glass torchon frame Venini production, inside Madonna with child in plaster on a xylonite base, dating back to the early 1950s. Patented Model.
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Murano Glass, Plastic, Plaster

Pair of Picture Frame in Faux Bamboo Silvered Copper, Italy, 1970s
Located in Rome, IT
Beautiful pair of horizontal and vertical picture frames in faux bamboo silver plated copper. Made in Italy in the 1970s.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Copper, Metal

Pair of Geometric Brass and Chrome Picture Frames, Italy, C. 1970s
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Mid-Century Modern solid brass pictures frames with geometric design. Hand polished and lacquer coated frames featuring fluted metal in gold with chrome bands, and black velvet backing. The frames are 8.75" H x 6.75" W and hold 5" x 7" photographs. Can be used both vertically or landscape and have small fittings should you choose to hang on a wall. Some minor patina on brass adds to their vintage allure.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass, Chrome

Vintage Italian Picture Frame, 1960s.
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Wicker, Brass and Glass Rectangular Picture Frame, Italy, 1960s
Located in Rome, IT
Rectangular picture frame in wicker bordered in brass supported by a wooden structure. Made in Italy in the 1960s.
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Claude Victor Boeltz French 1970s Gold Bronze Crystal Amethyst Picture Frame
Located in New York, NY
A French 1970s sculptural bronze gold dipped frame with three large crystal clusters by the artist, Claude Victor Boeltz. The frame can be arranged horizo...
Category

1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Crystal, Bronze, Gold

Squared Faux Bamboo Brass Picture Frame Attributed to Tommaso Barbi Italy 1970s
Located in Rome, IT
Squared picture frame in faux bamboo brass attributed to the Italian designer Tommaso Barbi. Made in Italy in the 1970s.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal, Brass

Mid-Century Modern Abstract Oil Painting, Nude Portrait by Skipper Mize, c1960
Located in Big Flats, NY
A Mid-Century Modern abstract oil painting on board by Skipper Mize offers impressionist full length nude portrait of figure, artist signed lower right, seated in matting and frame, ...
Category

Late 20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood, Paper

Mid-Century Modern Pen and Watercolor Surreal Courting Scene Signed Emil
Located in Big Flats, NY
A Mid-Century Modern pen and watercolor painting depicts surreal courting scene, signed lower right Emil, framed, circa 1970. Measures: 41" H x 53" W x 1.5" D overall; 28" H x 39" W...
Category

Late 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Paint, Wood

Monumental Cork and Brass Picture Frame
Located in New York, NY
Monumental cork and brass picture frame.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Brass

Midcentury Picture Frame by Ico Parisi with Abstract Painting, 1960s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Midcentury picture frame from the 1960s by Ico Parisi, abstract painting by an unknown artist.
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Wood

Midcentury Antonio Botta Burl Wood and Chromed Italian Picture Frame, 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Amazing mid-century chromed brass and burl wood photo frame. Felice Antonio Botta designed this item in Florence, Italy, during the 1970s. This ama...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Metal, Chrome, Brass

Andrés Garcia Benitez Cuban Artist Created Carteles Magazine Covers
Located in Miami, FL
REDUCED FROM $2,500....Original gouache painting by Andrés ( García Benítez) (1926-1981), a Cuban painter well known for creating covers for Carteles, a prestigious weekly magazine i...
Category

1970s Cuban Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Paint, Glass, Giltwood, Paper

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Artist Signed Mountain Scene Landscape, circa 1960
Located in Big Flats, NY
A vintage Mid-Century Modern oil on board painting depicts mountainous landscape with lake and village structures, lower left artist signed Balozs, framed, circa 1960 Measures: 31.2...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames

Materials

Paint, Wood

Mid-century Modern picture frames for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern picture frames for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage picture frames created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, wall decorations, mirrors and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, glass and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern picture frames made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and France pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original picture frames, popular names associated with this style include Barovier&Toso, Fontana Arte, Gucci, and Tommaso Barbi. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for picture frames differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $49 and tops out at $16,687 while the average work can sell for $970.

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