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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Wool, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Egyptian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Textile
1970s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Wool, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Velvet, Walnut
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Armchairs
Fur, Fabric, Wool, Faux Fur, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Spanish Modern Armchairs
Natural Fiber, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Chinese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Leather, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Hide, Ash
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Beech
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal, Chrome
1970s Czech Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Cane, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Faux Leather, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Textile, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Plywood, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Fur, Faux Fur