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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Balinese Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Beech
1980s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Travertine, Marble
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Textile, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Walnut
1990s Austrian Modern Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Chairs
Concrete
1970s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Textile, Oak
2010s English Modern Chairs
Wool, Bouclé
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Textile, Wood
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chairs
Animal Skin
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Chairs
Leather, Oak
1980s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
20th Century French Modern Chairs
Rush, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Hide, Ash
1920s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Chairs
Copper
2010s Saudi Arabian Modern Chairs
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century French Modern Chairs
Pine, Straw
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Velvet
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1980s German Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Mohair
1980s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Modern Chairs
Copper
1970s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Chairs
Copper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1950s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Walnut
20th Century French Modern Chairs
Bentwood