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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Austrian Modern Chairs
Concrete, Steel
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s French Modern Chairs
Goatskin, Goat Hair, Beech
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Walnut, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1950s European Vintage Modern Chairs
Velvet, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Chairs
Beech, Bentwood, Plywood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cotton, Walnut, Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cotton, Walnut, Hardwood
1980s European Vintage Modern Chairs
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Chairs
Oak
2010s German Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash
1990s Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cotton, Hardwood, Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Resin
2010s Modern Chairs
Copper
2010s Philippine Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood
20th Century American Modern Chairs
Bentwood, Birch, Birdseye Maple
2010s French Modern Chairs
Wool, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Oak, Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fur
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Wood, Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Walnut, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s German Modern Chairs
Suede, Ash
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Other
2010s Turkish Modern Chairs
Ash
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s French Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s South Korean Modern Chairs
Stone, Steel