Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Argentine Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Travertine, Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Bronze
19th Century Chinese Antique Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1960s European Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s North American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1940s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Limestone, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Israeli Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s European Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel, Bronze
1990s Swedish Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Steel
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
1990s Belgian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Silver Plate, Bronze
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Quartz, Marble, Silver, Bronze, Enamel
1950s Mexican Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
1980s Canadian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Bronze