Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
1950s Scandinavian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wool, Wood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Zinc
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plexiglass
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Fabric, Ash
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Aluminum, Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Beech, Plywood, Leather
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
2010s Hungarian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Aluminum
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Ash
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Ash, Wool, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wrought Iron
1940s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cane, Hardwood
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Chinese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Velvet, Textile, Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Rattan
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wire
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Ash
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Plastic
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood, Walnut
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Ash
1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Bentwood, Wool
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Rattan
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass, Steel
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Pine
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Textile, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass, Metal
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Aluminum
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Velvet, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Straw, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Aluminum, Iron
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Velvet, Beech
1960s Scandinavian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Canvas
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wrought Iron
1960s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wool, Papercord, Maple
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Textile, Beech
1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Oak
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