Modern Animal Sculptures
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Stone, Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Late 20th Century French Modern Animal Sculptures
Granite
20th Century South American Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
1940s Danish Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s German Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century European Modern Animal Sculptures
Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Animal Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s German Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
2010s Finnish Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
Early 2000s French Modern Animal Sculptures
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Animal Sculptures
Cut Steel
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century German Modern Animal Sculptures
Stone
Mid-20th Century French Modern Animal Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Portuguese Modern Animal Sculptures
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Animal Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
1980s European Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Terracotta
Late 19th Century French Antique Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Animal Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Animal Sculptures
Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Animal Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Animal Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 20th Century English Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Animal Sculptures
Horn
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Animal Sculptures
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
19th Century Italian Antique Modern Animal Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Animal Sculptures
Chrome
Mid-20th Century French Modern Animal Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Animal Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
19th Century Italian Antique Modern Animal Sculptures
Stone, Metal
2010s South African Modern Animal Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Animal Sculptures
Resin