Modern Figurative 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stoneware
1920s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
1960s North American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Felt, Plaster
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1940s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Alabaster
1920s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone, Sandstone
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay, Wood
1960s North American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Alabaster, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Israeli Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Chinese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Chrome
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
1990s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
1970s European Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite, Acrylic
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Alabaster
20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Acrylic, Lucite
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Plaster
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Iron
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
1950s Mexican Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1960s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition, Marble