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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Danish Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Concrete, Bronze, Steel
20th Century Canadian Modern Sculptures
Metal, Bronze
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1930s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Cast Stone
1940s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s European Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Japanese Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
1970s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Sculptures
Rock Crystal, Bronze
1670s Italian Antique Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Silver, Bronze, Sterling Silver
1920s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
2010s Spanish Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Argentine Vintage Modern Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Sculptures
Metal, Bronze, Sheet Metal
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Agate, Quartz, Bronze
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Chrome, Bronze
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Granite, Bronze
20th Century European Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Venezuelan Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze