Modern Armchairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1940s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Faux Leather, Wood
20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Tapestry, Faux Bamboo, Maple
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Armchairs
Foam
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Textile, Upholstery, Beech
1990s American Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
1930s German Vintage Modern Armchairs
Rope, Hardwood
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Foam
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Hardwood, Foam, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
1910s Austrian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bentwood
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Oak
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Oak
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Oak
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Oak, Walnut, Leather, Fabric, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Foam, Hardwood
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
1970s European Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Fabric
20th Century European Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Bentwood
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Wool, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century European Antique Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
1990s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Metal, Brass
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Wool, Wood
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Wool, Wood
2010s British Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric
20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Cotton, Wood, Rattan, Cane, Velvet
20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Canadian Modern Armchairs
Faux Leather
2010s South African Modern Armchairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather