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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s French Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
2010s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Olive
2010s Dutch Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Gold
20th Century Austrian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1950s Austrian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
1990s Austrian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Acrylic
1990s Austrian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
Early 2000s German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Lacquer
1990s French Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Canvas
1970s German Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Rattan, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal, Enamel
1990s American Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Velvet
1970s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Leather, Fabric, Velvet
Early 2000s British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
2010s Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1990s Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
2010s Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Cement, Metal
Early 2000s British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Slate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1930s Czech Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal, Chrome
Early 20th Century European Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Birch, Bentwood
Early 2000s French Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
2010s British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1990s Italian Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric, Upholstery
Late 20th Century British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Gold
Late 20th Century English Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Glass, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century German Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1970s British Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1990s English Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
Early 2000s British Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
20th Century European Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s European Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern More Furniture and Collectibles
Paper