Modern Benches
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Fabric
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Benches
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Steel, Chrome
1980s Vintage Modern Benches
Fabric, Wood
1980s German Vintage Modern Benches
Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Benches
Cotton, Bamboo, Foam
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Chrome
1980s French Vintage Modern Benches
Cherry
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Chrome
1980s Vintage Modern Benches
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Chrome
1980s Vintage Modern Benches
Upholstery, Reed
1980s Vintage Modern Benches
Glass, Fabric, Reed
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Benches
Leather, Maple
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Enamel
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Benches
Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Metal
1980s French Vintage Modern Benches
Cherry
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Steel
2010s American Modern Benches
Fabric, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Benches
Wool, Cotton
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Velvet, Ebony, Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Benches
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Metal, Chrome
Early 2000s Modern Benches
Ash, Cherry, Mahogany, Oak, Walnut
Late 20th Century American Modern Benches
Steel, Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Walnut, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Fabric
1980s Vintage Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Lacquer, Goatskin, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Wrought Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Velvet
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Glass
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Benches
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Benches
Fabric