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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Aluminum, Silver, Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Cane, Wood
Early 2000s Taiwanese Modern Chairs
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Leather, Straw, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Wood, Sheepskin
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s American Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bronze
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Ceramic, Fabric, Walnut
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bronze
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Leather, Linen
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Wood
20th Century Unknown Modern Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Sheepskin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Philippine Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Velvet, Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Oak
1980s Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1960s Belgian Vintage Modern Chairs
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Chairs
Linen, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s French Modern Chairs
Fabric, Foam, Wood, Ash, Beech
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Oak
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Velvet, Birch, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
Early 2000s American Modern Chairs
Acrylic
20th Century Mexican Modern Chairs
Metal, Iron