Modern Toys
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys
Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys
Oak, Walnut, Maple, Hardwood
Early 20th Century Dutch Modern Toys
Wood, Paint
1990s Modern Toys
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys
Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Indian Modern Toys
Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys
Oak
1960s Japanese Vintage Modern Toys
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Toys
Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys
Oak
Early 2000s German Modern Toys
Resin, Fiberglass, Paint
1950s German Vintage Modern Toys
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys
Beech
1980s Slovak Vintage Modern Toys
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Toys
Art Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Toys
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Modern Toys
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Toys
Art Glass, Wood
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Toys
Metal
1980s Philippine Vintage Modern Toys
Acrylic
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Toys
Metal
Early 1900s German Antique Modern Toys
Quartz
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Toys
Bamboo, Cane, Rattan
1960s Japanese Vintage Modern Toys
Wood
20th Century Japanese Modern Toys
Feathers, Textile, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Toys
Plastic, Paper