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Bauhaus Armchairs

BAUHAUS STYLE

The Bauhaus was a progressive German art and design school founded by the architect Walter Gropius that operated from 1919 to 1933. Authentic Bauhaus furnituresofas, dining chairs, tables and more — and the school’s followers married industrial and natural materials in simple, geometric forms. The goal of the Bauhaus was to erase the distinction between art and craft while embracing the use of new technologies and materials.

ORIGINS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Emphasis on craft
  • Simplicity, order, clarity and a prioritization of functionalism
  • Incorporation of geometric shapes
  • Minimalist and refined, little to no ornamentation
  • Use of industrial materials such as tubular chrome, steel and plastic as well as leather, cane and molded plywood in furniture and other products

BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGNERS YOU SHOULD KNOW

AUTHENTIC BAUHAUS FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The name Bauhaus is derived from the German verb bauen, “to build.” Under the school’s innovative curriculum, students were taught the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, as well as practical skills like carpentry and metalworking. 

The school moved from Weimar in 1925 to the city of Dessau, where it enjoyed its heyday under Gropius, then Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The period from 1932 to 1933 when it operated in Berlin under Mies was its final chapter. Despite its brief existence, the Bauhaus has had an enduring impact on art and design in the United States and elsewhere, and is regarded by many as the 20th century’s chief crucible of modernism

The faculty roster at the Bauhaus reads like a who’s who of modernist creative genius — it included such artists as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy along with architects and designers like Mies and Marcel Breuer, who became known for his muscular brutalist-style concrete buildings in the postwar years. In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus carpentry workshop, Breuer gave form to his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, side tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s Cesca chair was the first-ever tubular steel frame chair with a caned seat to be mass produced, while the inspiration for his legendary Wassily chair, a timeless design and part of the collection crafted to furnish the Dessau school, was the bike he rode around campus.

Bauhaus design style reflects the tenets by which these creators worked: simplicity, clarity and function. They disdained superfluous ornament in favor of precise construction. Seating pieces such as side chairs, armchairs or club chairs for example, were made with tubular metal or molded plywood frames, and upholstery was made from leather or cane. Above all, designs in the Bauhaus style offer aesthetic flexibility. They can be the elements of a wholly spare, minimalist space, the quiet foundation of an environment in which color and pattern come from one’s own collection of art and artifacts.

Today, from textiles to typefaces, architecture, furniture and decorative objects for the home, Bauhaus creations continue to have an outsize influence on modern design.

Find a collection of authentic Bauhaus furniture on 1stDibs.

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Style: Bauhaus
Creator: Thonet
Pair of Thonet armchairs, model 209, ca 2000
Located in Uppsala, SE
Pair of armchairs, model 209 (also called Wiener Stuhl), made by Thonet, one of which is marked. Legendary Swiss architect Le Corbusier was fascinated with this model and used it in ...
Category

1930s Austrian Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Rattan, Bentwood

Walter Gropius, Armchairs, Birch, Austria, 1950s
Located in High Point, NC
A pair of birch armchairs designed by Walter Gropius and produced by Thonet, Austria, c. 1950s. Seat Height: 17.5"
Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Birch

Early B35 Chair by Marcel Breuer for Thonet, 1930s
Located in Uppsala, SE
Very early example from the 1930s of the classical B35 model designed by Marcel Breuer for Thonet in the very last years of the 1920s. The leather has great patina and is definitely ...
Category

1930s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel

4 Black Bentwood & Cane Josef Hoffman Prague 811 Armchairs for Stendig by Thonet
Located in Topeka, KS
Iconic vintage Bauhaus black painted bentwood & cane Josef Hoffman Prague 811 armchairs imported by Stendig for Thonet, a set of 4. Beautiful condition, keeping in mind that these are vintage and not new so will have signs of use and wear even if it has been refinished or restored. Specifically, there have been a few small repairs in the caning of all chairs and one chair seat has been replaced completely. It has been replaced with sheet cane and not individually woven. Please see photos, zoom in for details, and see long description as they are part of the condition report. We attempt to portray any imperfections. Circa, Early to Mid-20th Century. Much like a fine wine or the Mona Lisa, some things just get better with age… That’s just a fact! Including these iconic vintage black painted bentwood & cane Josef Hoffman Prague 811 armchairs by Stendig for Thonet! Talk about the ability to withstand the hands of time!! This Josef Hoffman 811 chair was originally designed in 1925 but remains a current and fabulous design that is highly sought after today. This set of 4 is comprised of beautiful black painted bentwood frames bearing slender rounded arms, slightly flared legs, and marvelous natural cane seats AND backs!! SPECTACULAR!!! Can’t you just SEE these beauties surrounding your kitchen table, breakfast nook, game table, or simply used as extra seating in the family room? We certainly can! Just the right touch of Bauhaus magnificence to any room and they’re sure to complement your home with their classic, historical excellence, whatever your style whether its Bauhaus, Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern, or Modern!! Josef Hoffman was one of Austria's most important architects and designers and was central to the development of art and design in Vienna. He grew up with three sisters and was nicknamed Pepo. His father was the town mayor and a successful businessman. He was a founding member of the Vienna Secession, a radical anti-historicist movement, and together with Koloman Moser created the Wiener Werkstatte cooperative workshop. A highly individualistic architect and designer, Hoffmann's work combined the simplicity of craft production with a refined aesthetic ornament. Between 1901 and 1905, he designed four villas in Vienna and a sanatorium in Brussels that was called “Stoclet House”, for which he developed a “cubistic” language of form, with an emphasis on straight, unadorned lines. In 1905, he established the Kunstschau with painter Gustav Klimt and, two years later, founded the Deutscher Werkbund. Hoffmann worked well into his 80s, continuing to use the geometric motifs that influenced the art deco style of the 1920s. In 1928 his work appeared in the Art in Industry exhibition held at Macy’s in New York City, where it exerted a strong influence on American designer Donald Deskey. Hoffmann is one of the seminal figures in the modern decorative arts movement of the first half of the 20th century. Stendig was totally the brainchild and passion of Charles W. Stendig. You cannot write or talk about Stendig without explaining Charles. He was a pioneer of import goods in the mid-century. After serving in WWII as a paratrooper, he studied business with emphasis on international trade at NYU and City College of New York. Afterward first working for Raymor, another pioneering distribution company, for about two years, departing to start his own business: Stendig. He opened his first showroom in 1956 in midtown Manhattan. He is credited for sparking America’s interest in furniture from Finland, Switzerland, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. He imported from the likes of Thonet, Asko, and De Sede; and from iconic designers including Le Corbusier, Josef Hoffmann, Eero Aarnio, Tapio Wirkkala, Marcel Breuer, Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi, Carlo Mollino, Carlo Scarpa, and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni to name just a few. By the late 1960’s, Stendig had showrooms in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco with a large headquarters in NYC. They were exciting and good times but short lived. The business was a challenge and when an offer was made by Burlington Industries to purchase, Charles agreed. He stayed on till 1976 to oversee and then retired. I have searched the internet to no avail to find out if a Stendig division is still in operation. But I can only find the Stendig Calendar, the only calendar in MoMA’s collection, which was designed for Stendig by Mossimo Vignelli, still offered. But I am having a hard time deciding who is creating and offering it. I do know Burlington Industries was bankrupt by 2001, purchased in 2003, merged with Cone Mills in 2004 and subsequently into ITG or International Textile Group. But the Stendig name reins as an icon of high style mid-century offerings. Thonet was founded by Michael Thonet. Michael was born in 1796 and was apprenticed by his father to a cabinetmaker. Shortly after he married, Michael opened his one-man cabinetmaking shop creating furniture and cabinetry in the traditional manner by carving the needed parts and then joining them together. In 1830 he began experimenting with bending wood into curved shapes and thus began a successful furniture company that has remained continually in operation for nearly 200 years. Thonet’s early work was very Biedermeier in style and not made for the common man. Gradually his designs became more Art Nouveau. In 1951 his chairs for the Crystal Palace at the London World’s Fair won a prize medal and by the late 1950s he began to make his first “consumer” chair. In 1875, a year before Michael’s death, Thonet’s five factories made 620,000 chairs. Then in 1876 after his death the company became Gebruder Thonet. But all was not roses. In 1869 the Thonet patents lapsed and by 1893 there were 52 bentwood companies in Europe. However, Thonet persevered. They branched out. They merged. They added designs by Le Corbusier and Breuer and alternative materials such as tubular chrome in place of bentwood to their offerings. Business boomed and waned through the years and there was even a Thonet revival, so to speak, beginning in the 1940s on into the mid-20th century. Till today, in the 21st century, Thonet is still a furniture company to be reckoned with almost 200 years later. We are in love with this iconic set of 4 Prague 811 chairs...
Category

Early 20th Century Czech Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Cane, Bentwood, Paint

Adolf Schneck, rare A 64 F Bentwood armhair for Thonet, 1929
Located in Uppsala, SE
Rare armchair by Adolf Schneck (sometimes wrongly attributed to Josef Hoffmann) designed in 1929 and made by Thonet. This model was exhibited at the Viennese Art and Industry show du...
Category

1930s Austrian Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Beech, Bentwood

Set of Eight Chrome Brno Chairs by Mies Van Der Rohe for Thonet
Located in Buffalo, NY
Set of eight chrome Brno chairs by Mies Van Der Rohe for Thonet, classic Bauhaus design, nice original condition, hand delivery avail to New York City or anywhere en route from Buffa...
Category

1990s American Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Ton Bentwood Armchair With Gold Velvet, Czechoslovakia 1930s, 40 Available
Located in Zohor, SK
Iconic and elegant armchair produced by TON in Czech republic in 1930s. This particular chair is a variation on the classic model '811' Thonet Hoffman chair...
Category

1930s Czech Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Velvet, Bentwood

Thonet Anton Lorenz Cantilevered Chrome Armchair
Located in Pasadena, TX
(1 ) Thonet Lorenz arm chair The Lorenz arm chair was designed by Anton Lorenz in 1929 and manufactured by Thonet. In 1929 Anton Lorenz founded the firm Desta (Deutsche Stahlmöbel)...
Category

20th Century European Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Bauhaus Tubular Chromed Steel and Beech Armchair by Mart Stam for Thonet
Located in Chicago, IL
Bauhaus tubular chromed steel and ebonized beech armchair by Dutch designer Mart Stam for Thonet, 1932. The original wood finish has worn patches ...
Category

1930s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Most Unusual Set 4 of Modernist Bentwood Armchairs by Thonet
Located in Buffalo, NY
Most unusual set of modernist bentwood armchairs by Thonet ...This chair seems to be a blend of Classic Bauhaus style chairs designed by Michael Thonet, can’t seem to find another? C...
Category

1960s American Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Patent Leather, Bentwood

Classic Bentwood Armchair with Original Plaid Oil Cloth by Thonet Brothers 1940
Located in Buffalo, NY
Classic bentwood armchair with original plaid oil cloth by Thonet brothers 1940s, extremely comfortable, chair in remarkable original condition, minor d...
Category

1940s American Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Fabric, Plywood

Vintage Germany Icon Bauhaus B35 Black Leather Chair by Marcel Breuer for Thonet
Located in Warszawa, Mazowieckie
This design icon from 1928, the B35 armchair, was designed by Marcel Breuer in the late 1920s and made by the German Thonet factory in the early 1930s. This piece is made of tubular steel and black leather with natural patina. The materials used and the traces of wear show that this is an early production of this timeless modell. The armrests are finished with solid wood. Following the success of his Wassily chair, Breuer continued to experiment with tubular steel furniture. Like the Wassily chair, the B35 was not a direct representative of the Bauhaus school, but is clearly in line with the Bauhaus design and construction principles, with a modern, stripped-down form made of industrial materials not used today in furniture production. Marcel Breuer was born in 1902 in Hungary. He was an architect and designer. He received a scholarship to study painting and sculpture at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1920, but quickly quit and applied to the Bauhaus school in Weimar, Germany. After completing the preliminary courses there, he studied at the Bauhaus furniture...
Category

1930s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

'1' Thonet Anton Lorenz Cantilevered Chrome Armchair
Located in Pasadena, TX
(1 ) Thonet Lorenz arm chair The Lorenz arm chair was designed by Anton Lorenz in 1929 and manufactured by Thonet. In 1929 Anton Lorenz founded the firm Desta (Deutsche Stahlmöbel) in Berlin making Anton Lorenz the first to manufacture tubular-steel furniture on a commercial scale...
Category

1920s European Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Set of 4 Blue Cantilever Chairs B43 by Mart Stam for Thonet, Germany, 1930s
Located in Berlin, DE
Set of four blue cantilever chairs, two with armrests and two without. Model B43, designed in 1930s by Mart Stam and manufactured by Thonet in G...
Category

Mid-20th Century German Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel

Rare Bauhaus Mart Stam tubular chair by Thonet / original green colour!!
Located in Praha, CZ
- Thonet - Before 1930, earliest model, practically unseen - Original red eisengarn, iron fabric, perfect condition, original screws - Lacquered in original green seen in Thonet col...
Category

1920s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel

Anton Lorenz Tubular Steel Cantilever Club Chair KS 41 for Thonet, circa 1935
Located in Berlin, DE
Anton Lorenz chrome-plated tubular steel cantilever armchair model KS 41, manufactured by Thonet AG Frankenberg, circa 1935. The armchair was partially restored, the general vintage...
Category

1930s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome, Steel

Early Pair of Bauhaus Chrome Armchairs KF-406 by Walter Knoll for Thonet, 1930s
Located in Praha, CZ
- 1930 - extremely rare - maker: Thonet (marked) - design:L Walter Knoll - publicated (see the pictures) - original condition suitable for new upholstery - chrome with patina.
Category

1920s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Red Tubular Thonet Armchair by Anton Lorenz, New Leather Upholstery, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Bauhaus Art Deco armchair Completely restored, new upholstery and leather Material: Chrome-plated steel Source: Germany, Thonet Period: 1930-1939.    
Category

Early 20th Century German Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Bentwood Armchair by Thonet, Czechoslovakia, 1940s
Located in Zohor, SK
This is an amazing armchair. Fully restored into a beautiful, trendy look. The armchair was produced in 1940s by Thonet company, original label still attached. The armchair was in a ...
Category

1940s Czech Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Fabric, Bentwood

Restored Bauhaus Pair of Armchairs, by Thonet, by Marcel Breuer, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Restored Bauhaus Pair of Armchairs Made By Thonet. Designer: Marcel Breuer Maker: Thonet Material: Chrome-plated Steel Source: Czechia (Czechoslovakia) Period: 1930-1939 Made by in...
Category

1930s Czech Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome, Iron

Early Thonet S533 RF Cane Weißenhof Armchair Chair Mies van der Rohe Set of 2
Located in Munich, Bavaria
These Cantilever vintage armchairs are Bauhaus classics and were designed by Mies van der Rohe and knowned by the name Weißenhof Chair.This pair were produced by Thonet with the Model name S533 RF. 3 license holders are producing this chair today. As well as Knoll International MR10. Tecta B42 and this 2 Thonet S533...
Category

Mid-20th Century German Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Pair of Czech Bauhaus Armchairs, Marcel Breuer and Thonet, Chrome, Fabric, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
License Thonet according to the design of Marcel Breuer Fully restored. Armchairs, 2 pcs Style: Bauhaus. Period: 1930-1939. Material: Fabric and chrome-plated steel Source: C...
Category

Early 20th Century Czech Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Josef Frank A 63/F Armchairs for Thonet, 1930s
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Pair of rare modernist armchairs first showcased at the Vienna Werkbund exhibition in 1928. Crafted from solid beech (bentwood) and plywood, adorned with a brown lacquer coating, th...
Category

1930s Austrian Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Beech

Modernist bentwood armchair Thonet A 745 F, 1930s
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
This elegant streamlined Modernist bentwood armchair was originally conceived by Thonet in the 1930s for the Baťa shoemaking company in Zlín, in what was then Czechoslovakia. Designe...
Category

1930s Czech Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Beech

Original Bauhaus Armchair, by Thonet, Beech, Chrome, Germany, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This elegant Bauhaus armchair comes from Germany from the first half of the 20th century. It is manufactured by Thonet and impresses with its combination of tubular chromed steel and...
Category

1930s German Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Emile Guillot Tubular Steel Modernist Armchair Made by Thonet
By Emile Guillot, Thonet
Located in London, GB
Emile Guillot tubular steel modernist armchair made by Thonet. The shaped headrest, arms and shaped seat are ebonized Beech wood.  
Category

1930s European Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel

Thonet Office Armchair in Oak, Czechoslovakia, circa 1930s
Located in Zohor, SK
This beautiful office chair was produced by Thonet company. Original burnt in label still slightly visible in the bottom of the chair (see pictures). Made of strong oak wood and plyw...
Category

1930s Czech Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Oak, Plywood

Pair of Contemporary S 35 Lounge Chairs by Marcel Breuer for Thonet
Located in Norwalk, CT
This pair of iconic S 35 lounge chairs features heavy-duty black leather seats slung over tubular polished chrome frames, with black stained beechwood armres...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary German Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Pair of Cantilever leather Lounge Chairs Manufactured by Thonet in 1980
Located in Beirut, LB
Pair of night blue Bauhaus style lounge chairs on a chromed tubular steel cantilever base, manufactured by Thonet in 1980. Re-upholstered in a night blue leather for the seats and t...
Category

Late 20th Century French Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel

Rare Thonet A 403/F bentwood armchair by Josef Frank, 1930s
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
This piece is a design classic created by Josef Frank around 1928 for the esteemed manufacturer Gebrüder Thonet. Crafted from mahogany-stained bent beech and beech plywood, it exempl...
Category

1930s Austrian Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Beech

Pair of Red Bauhaus Armchairs Made in 30s Germany, Designed by Anton Lorenz
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Pair of red Bauhaus armchairs made out of high quality leather and Chrome plated steel. Made in´30s Germany by Thonet and Designed by Anton Lorenz. Full...
Category

1930s Czech Vintage Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Pair of Rare Adolf Loos Thonet B 952 F Armchairs
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Extremely rare beech wood Windsor-style chairs by Loos Adolf (1870–1933), manufactured by Gebrüder Thonet. Stamped by company trade mark. The authorshi...
Category

Early 1900s Austrian Antique Bauhaus Armchairs

Materials

Beech

Bauhaus armchairs for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Bauhaus armchairs for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage armchairs created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include seating, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Bauhaus armchairs made in a specific country, there are Europe, Germany, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original armchairs, popular names associated with this style include Marcel Breuer, Thonet, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Gavina. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for armchairs differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $330 and tops out at $107,000 while the average work can sell for $3,500.

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