Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

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

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.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Still Stand No40: Serene Standing Walnut Sculpture, Exquisite Escalona Art

Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No40: Serene Standing Walnut Sculpture, Exquisite Escalona Art

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Carved Walnut Elegance Still Stand No53: Organic Totem by Joel Escalona

Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Mid-Century Natural Polished Steer Horns on Lucite Pedestals

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Abstract Wooden Elegance Still Stand No65: Carved Totem by NONO, Escalona

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No71: Modern Organic Sculpture by NONO, Escalona Designed

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Abstract Wooden Serenity Still Stand No75 by NONO, Modern Escalona Sculpture

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No62: Organic Walnut Sculpture by NONO, Modern Escalona Design

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Hardstone Marquetry Specimen Globe on Brass Stand

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Tall Wooden Serenity Totem Still Stand No27: Sculpted by NONO’s Joel Escalona

1990s American Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Mid Century Modern/Contemporary model of Narwhal in Bronze

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Standing Serene Totem Still Stand No22: Crafted by Joel Escalona

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Abstract Modernist Wooden Sculpture in the style of Jean Arp, Unseen Force 12

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

set of two Mod Glass Shard and Cement Wall Art 1960s by J Avoinet

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No32: Graceful Walnut Standing Sculpture, Escalona Crafted

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Mid Century Curtis Jere Copper Fall Leaf Branch

20th Century Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Vintage Mounted Maio African Necklace

1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Large Wall-Mounted Sculpture Colored Stone in Concrete Mid-Century Modern, 1952

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No38: Elegant Wooden Standing Totem, A NONO Escalona Masterpiece

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Exquisite Wooden Standing Totem Still Stand No35 by NONO, Joel Escalona Art

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Sculpted Serenity in Oak Still Stand No37: Tall Totem by NONO, Escalona Design

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Organic Harmony: Modern Wood Totem Still Stand No49 by NONO, Escalona Design

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No48: Biomorphic Carved Oak Totem by NONO, Escalona Crafted

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Sculptural Harmony in Wood Still Stand No15 by NONO, Joel Escalona Design

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No45: Biomorphic Walnut Totem by NONO, Modern Escalona Artistry

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Abstract Wooden Serenity Still Stand No47 by NONO, Modern Escalona Sculpture

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No34: Tranquil Oak Totem Sculpture by NONO, Escalona Designed

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Biomorphic Serenity: Carved Oak Totem Still Stand No42 by NONO

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Graceful Curved Wood Totem Still Stand No39 by NONO, Joel Escalona Crafted

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Still Stand No43: Modern Organic Sculpture by NONO, Escalona Designed

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Monumental Wooden Sculpture Inspired in Constantin Brancusi Style, 27

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Abstract Wood Sculpture in the Flair of Scandinavian Art

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Modern Carved Tranquility Totem Still Stand No46, Joel Escalona Design

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Monumental Wooden Sculpture Inspired in Constantin Brancusi, Unseen Force 26

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Handcrafted Wooden Elegance Still Stand No31: Standing Totem by NONO

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Biomorphic Carved Wood Sculpture in the style of Isamu Noguchi, Unseen Force 22

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Pierre Giraudon Resin Exploded Clock Globe Sculpture, France 1970s

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Biomorphic Carved Wood Sculpture in the style of Isamu Noguchi, Unseen Force 20

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Carved Wooden Elegance Still Stand No44: Abstract Totem by Joel Escalona

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects

Rare Vasa Mihich Iridescent Op Art Acrylic Lucite Tower Table Sculpture in Pink

2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects