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
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
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.
11
to
1
7
4
11
11
11
11
11
9
1
3
1
3
1
Height
to
Width
to
11
8
6
2
2
10
10
25
12
11
9
7
Style: Mid-Century Modern
Creator: Fontana Arte
Mid-Century M. Ingrand for Fontana Arte Pink Curved Crystal Frame Italy 60s
Located in Palermo, IT
Wonderful portrait frame with pink curved crystal frame of rectangular shape with rounded edges, brass support. Designed by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, Italian production since 193...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Bronze
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
No 1370 Picture Frame by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte
Located in New York, NY
Glass and brass. Rare tabletop frame designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Elegant polished crystal panels with brass-banded fittings and stand.
Horizontal version also availa...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
20th Century Max Ingrand Oval Photo Frame in Glass and Brass for FontanaArte 50s
By Fontana Arte
Located in Turin, Turin
FontanaArte is an Italian company founded in Milan (as Fontana Arte) in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Giò Ponti and specializing in glass processing and the production of furnishing acce...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
1950s Mid-Century Modern Mirrored Glass Picture Frame by Fontana Arte
By Fontana Arte
Located in Aci Castello, IT
A perfectly preserved mirrored glass rectangular picture frame designed and manufactured by Fontana Arte, one of the leading manufacturers of Mid-Century Modern design in Italy. The ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Cut Glass, Mirror
No 1371 Picture Frame by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte
Located in New York, NY
Glass, brass. Rare horizontal tabletop frame designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Elegant polished crystal panels with brass-banded fittings and stand.
Vertical version availa...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
Max Ingrand brass and glass picture frame for Fontana Arte, Italy 1960s
Located in Milan, IT
Max Ingrand Picture Frame for Fontana Arte,
Model 1371.
Italy 1960s
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
Italian Fontana Arte Brass and Glass Picture Frame
By Fontana Arte
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fontana Arte Solid Brass Picture frame with a uniquely designed support, that also is used as the piece that hold the image agains the glass....
Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
Fontana Arte Pair of Italian Glass Picture Frames Large and Small
By Fontana Arte
Located in Chicago, IL
Pair of Fontana Arte Italian glass picture frames, one large and one small. The smaller one with the Made in Italy label. Perfect condition almost never used. No chips to the glass. ...
Category
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Glass
20th Century Fontana Art Picture Frame entirely in Ground Glass '60s
By Fontana Arte
Located in Turin, Turin
Picture frame designed in the semplicity of the Manufacturer Fontana Arte in 1960s. The picture frame is entirely in ground glass. The picture or the photo could be inserted from the...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Glass
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
Related Items
Vintage Sterling Silver Photo Frame London 20th C
Located in London, GB
A superb decorative sterling silver photo frame by Carrs of Sheffield, with makers mark RC and hall marks for Sheffield 1996.
Beautiful portrait or landscape frame decorated with...
Category
1990s English Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Sterling Silver
Beautiful Antique Picture Frame, Photo Frame, Brass, Late 19th Century
Located in Greven, DE
Beautiful picture frame with rich ornaments from the late 19th century with antique photo.
Picture Size: 6 x 9 cm.
Category
Late 19th Century Antique Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
20th Century Art Deco Solid Silver & Enamel Photo Frame, Birmingham, c.1911
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Antique early 20th Century Art Deco solid silver & guilloche enamel oval photograph frame, mounted on a wood easel support and set with glass. Hallmarked English silver (925 standard...
Category
20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Silver, Enamel
Free Shipping
H 6.7 in W 4.93 in D 0.4 in
20th Century Art Deco Solid Silver Large Photo Frame, Birmingham, c.1950
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
20th Century Art Deco silver & engine turned photograph frame, with stylised corners, mounted on an ebonised easel support and set with glass.
Hallmarked English silver, Birmingham,...
Category
20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Silver
Free Shipping
H 15.16 in W 12.21 in D 0.79 in
1940s Antique Picture Frame Dragon Serpent High Relief
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1940s Antique Silver Nickel Photo Picture Frame
Stand up kick plate
Embellished Border design dragon serpent motif
7H x 5.25W .25D inches
Original Vintage Preowned Condition.
Refer ...
Category
1940s Chinese Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Nickel
Seguso Murano Glass Picture Frame Vanity Mirror 1950s
By Seguso
Located in Munich, DE
Sophisticated round picture frame or vanity mirror in thick clear blown Murano glass signed with Seguso Murano. The elegant texture of the tightly twisted glass frame...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
Midcentury Pietro Chiesa Carved Crystal Glass Italian Ashtray for Fontana Arte
Located in Roma, IT
Amazing midcentury carved crystal glass ashtray. This wonderful item was designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in Italy during 1960s.
This piece is unique as it has two carved sides and two straight ones and tone of the crystal, that is a very elegant water marine.
A perfect bowl to complete a midcentury-style living room or entrance.
Measures (cms):
width - 20
depth - 20
height - 2
Pietro Chiesa (1892-1948) was an Italian designer who specialised in modernist and Art Deco designs. Chiesa was one of the founding members of FontanaArte which was established in 1932, and as its artistic director, he designed hundreds of items ranging from furniture to objets d’art. A member of the Swiss Ticino family of artists, Chiesa is best known for his glass furnishing pieces, such as the Fontana table.
Fontana Arte (established in 1933) was founded by Luigi Fontana, Gio Ponti, and Pietro Chiesa as a premier producer and marketer of furniture, lighting, and furnishing accessories, and distignuished itself applying the highest standards of glass craftsmanship and techniques. Throughout Fontana Arte’s history, its lamps and furniture have been highly sought after due to their superior glass craftsmanship and innovative design.
Saint-Gobain Invests in Luigi Fontanta e Compagni
The origins of Fontana Arte go back to 1881, when Luigi Fontana established Luigi Fontana e Compagni to produce and market sheet glass for the construction industry. Luigi’s success as an entrepreneur in the growing Italian construction sector attracted the attention of the French glass-making company Saint-Gobain, which, in 1910, took a majority stake in the ownership of Luigi Fontana e Compagni transforming it into a “Società Anonima” still under the direction of Luigi Fontana. By the mid-1920s, Fontana e Compagni’s capabilities included the creation of artistic stained glass that was mostly used in functional and decorative settings of churches and cathedrals.
Gio Ponti Becomes Fontana e Compagni’s Artistic Director
In just a few years, the production of such artistic stained-glass products had become of such importance that a different division within the Fontana e Compagni was created to further its development. In 1930, Luigi Fontana met the successful young Milanese architect Gio Ponti, who was then the art director of Richard-Ginori pottery company, and they formed a partnership, under the name of Luigi Fontana SA, for the production of light fixtures, furniture, and furnishing objects. During this initial period, Gio Ponti designed from Fontana Arte the now-iconic 0024 Pendant light (1931) and the Bilia Table Lamp (1931).
Pietro Chiesa, Gio Ponti, and Luigi Fontana Found Fontana Arte
In 1932, Gio Ponti approached Pietro Chiesa to join him and Luigi Fontana and to become Luigi Fontana SA’s artistic director. In 1933, Pietro Chiesa merged his studio, the Bottega di Pietro Chiesa, with Fontana SA, and together Luigi Fontana, Gio Ponti, and Chiesa founded Fontana Arte. During Chiesa’s tenure as artistic director, Fontana Arte’s production became rich and varied. It included furniture, tables, mirrors, sculptures, and stained glass, but it was certainly in the lighting sector where Fontana Arte excelled by creating lamps and lights with the highest standards in glass craftsmanship and modern designs. From this period came the Luminator floor lamp, the Cartoccio glass vase, and the Fontana Arte table made out of a single band of bent clear glass, (all designed by Pietro Chiesa, in 1932); and the Naska lamp...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Crystal
H 0.79 in W 7.88 in D 7.88 in
Early 20th Century Gold Painted Oval Frame
Located in San Francisco, CA
Early 20th century gold painted oval frame
Measures: Opening 21" wide x 25.75" high
Outer edge 25.5" wide x 30" high
Good antique condition.
Category
Early 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Wood
'Scalpellato' Glass Dish by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, Italy, circa 1935
Located in London, GB
A circa 1930 ‘scalpellato’ handcut glass dish designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. The beautiful aquamarine coloured glass was produced using the ‘scalpellato’ or ‘chiselled’ ...
Category
1930s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Glass
H 0.99 in W 6.7 in D 7.29 in
Vintage Sterling Silver Photo Frame, Embossed Leaf Pattern, Italy, 20th C
Located in Chatham, ON
Vintage sterling silver photo frame with embossed leaf pattern - inset glass liner - wood veneered back and easel with high polished / gloss finish - original paper liner with maker'...
Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Sterling Silver
H 8.63 in W 6.75 in D 5.5 in
Early 20th Century Folk Art Match Photo Frame.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Early 20th Century Folk Art Match Photo Frame.
Early 20th century folk art photo frame made from matches.
h: 20cm, w: 16cm, d: 1cm
Category
Early 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Wood
Small Travel picture frame around 1950s
Located in Wien, AT
Small Travel picture frame around 1950s
Original condition
Picture size:
Wide 2,3cm
Hight: 3,5cm
Category
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
Previously Available Items
Exceptional 1950s Italian Fontana Arte Picture Frame
By Fontana Arte
Located in Roma, IT
An extraordinary find. This perfectly designed heavy glass picture frame in hand-blown turquoise glass was made by Fontana Arte in the 1950s and was found here in Italy. The design a...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Blown Glass, Glass, Art Glass
Glass Photo Frame attributed to Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, Italy, 1940s
Located in Albano Laziale, Rome/Lazio
Crystal photo frame attributed to Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, Italy. Produced sometime during the 1940s. The entire frame including the backrest is made in the typical green glas...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Glass
H 12.21 in W 9.45 in D 0.79 in
Max Ingrand Picture Frame for Fontana Arte, Italy 1960s
Located in Milan, IT
Max Ingrand Picture Frame for Fontana Arte,
Model 1371.
Italy 1960s
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
20th Century Pietro Chiesa Fontana Arte Photo Frame Wood Glass Brass Vert. 40s
Located in Turin, Turin
After an apprenticeship with the glassmaker Giannotti Pietro Chiesa opened his own glass workshop in 1921. In the early 1920s he participated in the Monza Biennale, the Venice Biennale, the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and exhibitions in Cologne and Barcelona. He combines extreme modernity and high technical skill in his work. In 1932 he was called by Gio Ponti to share the artistic direction of the newly founded FontanaArte, a role that would give him the opportunity to express all his creativity, designing more than a thousand different objects (furniture, tables, lamps, stained glass, objets d'art, etc.).
Here is a vertical photo...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
H 9.85 in W 7.88 in D 4.34 in
20th Century Pietro Chiesa Fontana Arte Photo Frame in Wood Glass and Brass 40s
Located in Turin, Turin
After an apprenticeship with the glassmaker Giannotti Pietro Chiesa opened his own glass workshop in 1921. In the early 1920s he participated in the Monza Biennale, the Venice Biennale, the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and exhibitions in Cologne and Barcelona. He combines extreme modernity and high technical skill in his work. In 1932 he was called by Gio Ponti to share the artistic direction of the newly founded FontanaArte, a role that would give him the opportunity to express all his creativity, designing more than a thousand different objects (furniture, tables, lamps, stained glass, objets d'art, etc.).
Here is a horizontal photo frame...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
H 7.49 in W 9.85 in D 4.34 in
Fontana Arte Vintage Glass Photo Frame
By Fontana Arte
Located in Milano, IT
Rare glass photo frame made in the 1960s by Fontana Arte.
The photo holder has a classic rectangular shape with frosted corners, made entirely of gl...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Glass
1950s Fontana Arte Mid-Century Modern Chiselled Verde Nilo Glass Picture Frame
By Fontana Arte
Located in Aci Castello, IT
A stylish heavy Verde Nilo glass picutre frame designed and manufactured in Italy in the Fifties by Fontana Arte in very good conditions. The picture frame it's a stunning and unique...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Glass
H 14.97 in W 12.21 in D 2.76 in
20th Century Max Ingrand Picture Frame for Fontana Arte Mod 1371 Glass and Brass
Located in Turin, Turin
Picture frame model n. 1371 designed by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte in 1960s. The picture frame is in glass and brass, with its own patina of time.
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
H 9.06 in W 7.09 in D 4.73 in
Fontana Arte Brass Picture Frame, 1960's
By Fontana Arte
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nice sculptural design
Undulating brass frame with original glass (small chip on corner) or can switch to a vanity mirror
A great decorative piece that will compliment a Gio Ponti c...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
1950s Mid-Century Modern Green Nilo Glass Picture Frame by Fontana Arte
Located in Aci Castello, IT
A stylish heavy verde Nilo glass and brass picture frame designed and manufactured in Italy in the Fifties by Fontana Arte, it's in perfect conditions.
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
H 13.39 in W 10.24 in D 7.88 in
20th Century Pietro Chiesa Fontana Arte Photo Frame in Wood Glass and Brass 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 ...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Brass
H 11.82 in W 9.45 in D 4.34 in
Italian Mid-Century Modern Crystal Photo Frame with Brass by Fontana Arte, 1960s
By Fontana Arte
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian Mid-Century Modern Crystal photo frame with brass by Fontana Arte, 1960s
Crystal photo frame with double aquamarine green crystal and burnis...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Materials
Crystal, Brass
H 7.09 in W 5.12 in D 3.94 in
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.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Zulu Club
Snake Picture
Tortoiseshell Picture Frame
Rustic Vintage Picture Frames
Black And Silver Wood Picture Frames
Arts And Crafts Enamel Frames
Ombre Mirror
Tiffanys Window Displays
Tiffany Window Display
Antique Picture Frames 1920s
Tiffany Window Displays
Tiffanys Window Display
French Dore Picture Frames
Two 5 X 7 Picture Frames
Photo Frame Fontana
Childrens Marbles
Antique Victorian Oval Picture Frames
Florentine Picture Frame