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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Lacquer, Walnut, Oak, Velvet, Linen, Mohair, Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel, Other
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Velvet
20th Century Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
1980s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Metal, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Armchairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1960s Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
1960s German Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery, Down
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Glass
1950s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1980s Vintage Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
1990s American Modern Armchairs
Foam, Wood, Fabric
20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery
1950s European Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Armchairs
Beech
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Armchairs
Upholstery
20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Foam, Oak, Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Bentwood
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Lucite
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
1970s French Vintage Modern Armchairs
Velvet, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Other, Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel