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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Chinese Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Ash
1980s Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
1960s Vintage Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Egyptian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Straw
2010s Chinese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Leather, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1930s Swiss Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
2010s Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
20th Century Belgian Modern Armchairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s New Zealand Modern Armchairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Armchairs
Felt, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Suede, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Alpaca, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
1980s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Foam, Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1990s French Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Rattan, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Faux Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal