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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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
Leather
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Armchairs
Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
1940s Vintage Modern Armchairs
Rope, Wood
Late 20th Century German Modern Armchairs
Aluminum, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood, Oak
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Brass, Bronze, Steel
2010s Danish Modern Armchairs
Sheepskin, Wood
2010s South African Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Bouclé
1960s Brazilian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Trimming
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Nickel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Bamboo, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Armchairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Plastic
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Plastic
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Other, Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel, Other
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Leather, Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Dutch Modern Armchairs
Acrylic, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Plastic
1990s Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Cane, Fabric, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Armchairs
Leather, Velvet
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel, Other
2010s Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Fiberglass, Hardwood
Late 20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Oak