Modern Club 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Brazilian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Hardwood, Down
Early 2000s American Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Club Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Ultrasuede
Late 20th Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Rattan
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Bouclé, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Club Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Club Chairs
Sheepskin
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Foam, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Suede
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
20th Century Swedish Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Teak
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Cowhide, Leather
1990s Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Club Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Modern Club Chairs
Walnut
1950s French Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Club Chairs
Linen
20th Century North American Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Sapele Wood
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Brass
20th Century Swedish Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Teak
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal