Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Bouclé, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Chenille, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Ash
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Walnut, Velvet, Rattan
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Wood, Leather, Canvas
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Faux Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Steel
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Wood
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Beech
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Rattan, Hardwood
1960s Polish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Beech
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Wool, Beech
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Beech, Velvet
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Silk, Velvet
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Rattan, Beech
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum, Brass, Bronze
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Cotton, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Beech
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Rattan
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Cane
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Bouclé
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Beech
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Rattan
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Oak
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
1990s Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Beech
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
1960s English Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Wool, Beech