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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Mid-20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century French Modern Sculptures
Metal
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wire
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Sculptures
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Composition
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Fiberglass
20th Century Modern Sculptures
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Porcelain
20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Plastic
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
2010s South African Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Sculptures
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Metal
1930s American Vintage Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Sculptures
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Mirror, Paint, Reclaimed Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Sculptures
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Carrara Marble
1990s Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary South American Modern Sculptures
Quartz, Rock Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sculptures
Stone, Limestone
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Italian Modern Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Sculptures
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
2010s British Modern Sculptures
Metal, Steel, Iron
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Dutch Modern Sculptures
Metal
2010s American Modern Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Sculptures
Composition
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Sculptures
Composition
20th Century Italian Modern Sculptures
Art Glass