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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Rush
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
Mid-20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s European Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
1980s German Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Armchairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Nutwood, Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Hide, Ash
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Cut Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Wood
1950s Swedish Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood, Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Synthetic, Polyester, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Rattan
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Wood
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Oak, Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Oak
Early 2000s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s South African Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Beech, Foam, Fabric, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Wood, Fabric, Oak