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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bronze
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Teak, Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
1980s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Brass
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Armchairs
Teak, Leather
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Ultrasuede
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Mohair, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Lebanese Modern Armchairs
Satin, Walnut
Late 20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood, Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Plastic, Foam
1950s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
2010s German Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Other, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Hardwood, Fabric, Cane
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Fruitwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1930s Swiss Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Fur, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Lacquer, Wood, Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum, Steel
20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Rope, Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Steel