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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Chinese Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Metal, Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s Finnish Modern Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Walnut
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Birch
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s French Modern Chairs
Antler, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Chairs
Beech
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Marble, Bronze
Mid-20th Century German Modern Chairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash, Wood, Acrylic, Faux Leather, Bouclé, Alpaca, Wool, Fabric
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Modern Chairs
Faux Leather
2010s American Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Maple
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal, Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet
1990s American Modern Chairs
Maple
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Concrete
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century French Modern Chairs
Leather, Elm
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Textile
2010s Indonesian Modern Chairs
Teak
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Rush, Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Mahogany
2010s Mexican Modern Chairs
Hardwood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Philippine Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Walnut, Velvet
2010s British Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Chairs
Brass