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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Nickel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Cotton, Linen
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Cotton
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Swiss Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
1990s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Armchairs
Textile, Foam, Wood
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Other, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Beech
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Colombian Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Foam
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Iron
2010s Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Foam, Hardwood
1990s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Textile, Mahogany, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Modern Armchairs
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate
1910s Austrian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bentwood
Early 2000s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Cane, Wood, Straw
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric
1930s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wrought Iron
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood