Modern Rocking 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood, Beech
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Birch
1990s American Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Pakistani Modern Rocking Chairs
Wicker, Mahogany
1980s American Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood, Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood, Oak, Cane
1980s American Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Masonite, Paper
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood
Late 20th Century North American Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Hardwood, Beech
1960s French Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Metal, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Rocking Chairs
Bamboo, Rattan
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Rocking Chairs
Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Metal
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood, Teak
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Rocking Chairs
Metal
Early 20th Century American Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather, Wood, Oak
Mid-20th Century German Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Rocking Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet
1990s American Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather, Wood
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Birch
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Late 20th Century French Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century European Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood
1970s German Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Rocking Chairs
Wood, Cane
Late 20th Century French Modern Rocking Chairs
Leather