Modern Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s French Modern Chairs
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Chairs
Faux Leather, Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Chairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Chairs
Oak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Linen, Beech
20th Century French Modern Chairs
Cane, Oak
1920s German Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
1960s Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Sheet Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Chairs
Plastic
1970s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather
1960s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Oak
Mid-20th Century French Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
20th Century American Modern Chairs
Polyester, Wood
Late 19th Century German Antique Modern Chairs
Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Steel
20th Century French Modern Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1990s French Modern Chairs
Plastic
1980s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Beech, Lacquer
1970s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1950s Indian Vintage Modern Chairs
Teak, Cane
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Chairs
Brass, Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century North American Modern Chairs
Plastic
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Ash, Plywood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Chrome
1930s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Plastic
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Velvet
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Fabric, Mahogany
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Plastic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
20th Century French Modern Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
20th Century French Modern Chairs
Wood