Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern American 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.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used 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 influence 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.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass
1950s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Steel
1960s Finnish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Stoneware
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Beech
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Pottery
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Gold Leaf
1940s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Bronze
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Aluminum
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Marble
1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass, Chrome
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Gold Leaf
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Aluminum
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Ceramic
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass
1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Paper
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Agate, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Rosewood
1940s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Plywood
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Marble, Brass
1960s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Ceramic
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Jute
1950s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Quartz, Rock Crystal
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Wood
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Copper
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass, Copper
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal, Bronze
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Steel, Brass
1880s European Antique Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Glass, Wood, Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Murano Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Aluminum
1960s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Jute
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Paper, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Rock Crystal, Bronze
1970s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass, Copper
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Brass, Metal
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
Metal, Brass