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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Irish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
2010s Turkish Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Composition, Steel
1990s French Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Cut Steel
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Stone, Bronze
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Concrete
2010s Portuguese Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
1990s Polish Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s African Modern Sculptures
Brass, Steel
Early 2000s French Modern Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Scandinavian Modern Sculptures
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Sculptures
Pewter
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Sculptures
Stoneware
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Sculptures
Sandstone
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s North American Modern Sculptures
Aluminum, Cut Steel
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Steel, Iron
1990s American Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Sculptures
Concrete
1990s European Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Hardwood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Crystal
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Sculptures
Cotton, Wood, Nylon
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Malachite, Silver
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
1960s French Vintage Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Alabaster
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Sculptures
Jute, Plaster, Fiberglass
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Metal
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Latvian Modern Sculptures
Other
1980s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel





