Modern Chaise Longues
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s British Modern Chaise Longues
Cotton
Late 20th Century Modern Chaise Longues
Wrought Iron
1970s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Metal, Aluminum, Chrome
1980s Finnish Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Stainless Steel
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Upholstery, Maple
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Birch, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Stainless Steel
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Chaise Longues
Bouclé, Upholstery
1980s Canadian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal, Steel
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Textile
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
1990s Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Steel, Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern Chaise Longues
Steel, Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric
Late 20th Century North American Modern Chaise Longues
Marble, Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Masonite, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Wood, Paint
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Chrome
1990s Philippine Modern Chaise Longues
Copper
1990s French Modern Chaise Longues
Steel
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Bouclé, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Velvet
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Fabric
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Animal Skin, Upholstery
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Wrought Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Leather, Birch
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Wrought Iron
1970s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Lucite
1980s American Vintage Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Chaise Longues
Stainless Steel
1990s American Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric
1990s Dutch Modern Chaise Longues
Metal