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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Walnut, Foam
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Leather, Foam, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Walnut
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Cotton, Wood
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Pine
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Leather, Beech
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Velvet
2010s Macedonian Modern Armchairs
Foam, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Fabric
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
20th Century American Modern Armchairs
Metal, Iron
1950s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
Late 20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Bamboo
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Modern Armchairs
Walnut, Wenge
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
2010s Swiss Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Polyester
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Belgian Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Velvet, Faux Leather
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Leather