Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Belgian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Oak, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood, Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass
Early 2000s British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wool, Cotton, Linen, Silk, Upholstery, Natural Fiber, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
20th Century French Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Other
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton
1970s French Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wool, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Other
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Other
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Plaster, Wood
2010s Danish Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1990s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Oak, Walnut
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Plaster
Late 20th Century European Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Pyrite
Late 20th Century African Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Natural Fiber, Wood
19th Century Antique Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Lucite
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Velvet
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Marble, Carrara Marble
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Marble, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Velvet
1990s Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
2010s French Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Plastic
1980s Russian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Nickel, Other