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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
20th Century English Modern Armchairs
Wood
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Rattan
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Wrought Iron
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Ash
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Leather
Early 2000s Italian Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Foam
2010s Argentine Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Swedish Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Mohair
Late 20th Century German Modern Armchairs
Aluminum, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
1990s Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Nutwood, Fabric
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Beech
Late 20th Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Jute, Wood, Trimming
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Chrome, Stainless Steel, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Foam
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Oak, Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel