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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Chairs
Hardwood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Textile, Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Foam
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Chairs
Teak
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Wood, Oak, Papercord
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s Czech Vintage Modern Chairs
Iron
1980s Israeli Vintage Modern Chairs
Cut Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Oak
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Ash, Plywood, Foam, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood, Oak, Walnut
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Textile, Cane, Wood, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s American Modern Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Textile, Hardwood
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Plywood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Sheepskin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Steel, Nickel
2010s European Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Upholstery, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wool, Alpaca, Bouclé, Faux Leather, Acrylic, Wood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood, Mohair, Bouclé, Linen
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cane, Wood, Cedar
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Textile, Foam, Plywood
1950s Indian Vintage Modern Chairs
Teak, Leather
2010s Modern Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Modern Chairs
Pine, Straw
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s American Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s Saudi Arabian Modern Chairs
Linen, Velvet, Polyester