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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Faux Leather
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s North American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Wicker
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Ash
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Wood
1980s German Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
Late 20th Century American Modern Club Chairs
Hardwood, Velvet
20th Century Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Hardwood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Iron
1960s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
1970s Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
1980s European Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Lacquer, Wood, Polyester, Foam, Upholstery, Leather
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
20th Century North American Modern Club Chairs
Velvet
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1940s French Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Down
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wool
1980s Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Cowhide, Upholstery, Oak
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Club Chairs
Fabric, Lucite