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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Dutch Modern Club Chairs
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Metal, Copper
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Bouclé, Maple
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass, Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Brass, Steel
Early 2000s Austrian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Club Chairs
Lacquer, Upholstery, Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Foam, Beech
2010s Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
20th Century Swedish Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Club Chairs
Leather
Early 2000s American Modern Club Chairs
Foam, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Bouclé, Walnut, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Club Chairs
Aluminum
1970s French Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Club Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Mahogany
2010s Argentine Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Mexican Modern Club Chairs
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Club Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal
1960s Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Rattan, Lacquer
1970s French Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Club Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Club Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Club Chairs
Leather
2010s Modern Club Chairs
Bronze
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Textile, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
2010s Philippine Modern Club Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Faux Leather