Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern 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.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s 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 pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture 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, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Marshall Studios

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamps, Walnut, Ceramic, Linen Marshal Studios, 1950s

Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamps, Walnut, Ceramic, Linen Marshal Studios, 1950s

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Martz Glazed Ceramic Table Lamps, Marshall Studios, 1960s, a Pair

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Martz Glazed Ceramic Table Lamp, Marshall Studios, 1960s

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Martz Marshall Studios Dark Matte Brown Pottery Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Pair Vintage Martz Marshall Studios W31-28 Mid-Century Modern Walnut Table Lamps

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Martz Marshall Studios Matte White Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane and Gordon Martz Ceramic and Walnut Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, Walnut, USA, 1960s

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios Brown Drip Banded White Stoneware Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, Walnut, USA, 1960s

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Vintage Ceramic Table Lamps By Gordon & Jane Martz for Marshall Studios

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane and Gordon Martz Ceramic Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane and Gordon Martz Ceramic Table Lamp With Stripes

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

A pair of Jane and Gordon Martz table lamps M141 Marshall Studios Gray Green Tan

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Large Scale Martz Ceramic Table Lamp

1950s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane and Gordon Martz Ceramic and Walnut Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Rare Mid-Century Gordon + Jane Martz Ceramic Table Lamp Marshall Studios Inc.

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1960s Jane and Gordon Martz Custom Table lamp for Marshall Studios with custom s

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Large Vintage Mid Century Ceramic Martz Table Lamp

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1960s M-200 Table Lamp by Jane and Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

A pair of Maroon Jane and Gordon Martz table lamps M41 mid century modern

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Gordon and Jane Martz M245 Lamp for Marshall Studios large geometric form

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Gordon and Jane Martz M 53 Lamp for Marshall Studios Light Gray Blue white Cone

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1960s Monumental Martz lamp Model 210 By Jane and Gordon Martz Marshall studios

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Gordon and Jane Martz 170 Lamp Pair for Marshall Studios Maroon Tan Sgraffito

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1960s Gordon and Jane Martz Table lamp M41 for Marshall Studios Light Gray whit

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, USA, 1960s

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, USA, 1960s

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Gordon & Jane Martz Glazed Ceramic Table Lamp for Marshall Studios

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane and Gordon Martz table lamp M41 for Marshall Studios White with black glaze

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1960s Gordon and Jane Martz Geometric Table Lamp M216 for Marshall Studios Gray

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, USA, 1960s

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1960s Gordon and Jane Martz White Incised Table lamp M197 for Marshall Studios

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, USA, 1960s

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Martz Lamps by Jane and Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios, Ceramic Table Lamps

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, USA, 1960s

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Martz Lamps by Jane and Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios, Ceramic Table Lamps

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz Ceramic Table Lamps for Marshall Studios, circa 1965

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

Jane & Gordon Martz, Table Lamp, Ceramic, Walnut, USA, 1960s

1960s Canadian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps