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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze, Copper
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Enamel, Wire
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Chrome
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Onyx, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Brass
1960s North American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Chrome
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stone, Onyx, Marble, Metal, Aluminum, Brass, Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Copper, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Chrome, Copper, Nickel
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Quartz, Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Cut Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century Modern Sculptures
Steel, Sheet Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Metal
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Sculptures
Brass
1990s Modern Sculptures
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass, Copper