Modern Games
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 German Vintage Modern Games
Porcelain, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Games
Aluminum, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Games
Other, Tin
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome, Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Games
Aluminum, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Aluminum, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Ebony
Early 20th Century American Modern Games
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Ebony
2010s Italian Modern Games
Slate, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Games
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Games
Slate, Metal, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Games
Slate, Gold Plate, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games
Crystal, Stainless Steel, Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Games
Leather
1950s American Vintage Modern Games
Aluminum
Late 19th Century English Antique Modern Games
Walnut
1880s English Antique Modern Games
Mahogany
1980s American Vintage Modern Games
Plastic, Paper, Felt, Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Games
Steel
Early 20th Century English Modern Games
Wrought Iron
Late 19th Century American Antique Modern Games
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Games
Birdseye Maple, Oak, Walnut
1890s American Antique Modern Games
Metal
Early 20th Century American Modern Games
Wood
Early 20th Century Dutch Modern Games
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Games
Leather
1970s Vintage Modern Games
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Peruvian Modern Games
Stone, Serpentine, Soapstone
1980s American Vintage Modern Games
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Games
Resin, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Games
Resin, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Games
Onyx, Brass
Early 20th Century German Modern Games
Wood
1970s European Vintage Modern Games
Chrome
1960s European Vintage Modern Games
Chrome
1970s American Vintage Modern Games
Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Games
Sterling Silver
20th Century Italian Modern Games
Walnut