Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1940s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
1940s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Earthenware
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Wood, Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Copper
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1960s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
1930s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Gold Leaf
1970s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Foam
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Stoneware
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Oak
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
1970s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Blown Glass
1970s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Concrete
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Earthenware
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Bronze
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Aluminum
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Plaster
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Acrylic, Lucite
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Iron
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass, Murano Glass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Rope
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Wood
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Teak
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Crystal
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Clay
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Metal, Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Brass, Stainless Steel
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Objects
Steel
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