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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 19th Century Ukrainian Antique Modern Club Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Beech, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood, Oak
Late 20th Century Modern Club Chairs
Oak, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Club Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Turkish Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Linen, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
2010s British Modern Club Chairs
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Club Chairs
Linen
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Club Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Resin, Fiberglass, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Club Chairs
Leather
Early 20th Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Linen, Birch, Maple
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Plywood, Foam, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Beech, Leather, Foam
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Resin, Fiberglass, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Beech
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Beech, Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Resin, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Leather, Beech