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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Canadian Modern Chairs
Sheepskin, Upholstery, Hardwood, Ash
2010s British Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Rope, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Epoxy Resin
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s American Modern Chairs
Ash, Wood
1930s Danish Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather, Mahogany
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Paint, Beech
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Cotton, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Cotton, Linen
20th Century European Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Textile
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Teak
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Laminate, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Feathers
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Straw, Beech
2010s American Modern Chairs
Leather, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Textile, Wood, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century German Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Canadian Modern Chairs
Hardwood
Early 2000s Danish Modern Chairs
Birch, Walnut, Plywood, Lacquer
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal