Modern Settees
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Settees
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Settees
Bouclé, Upholstery
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Settees
Leather, Fabric
1980s American Vintage Modern Settees
Stainless Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Settees
Cotton, Bamboo, Foam
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Settees
Leather
1980s British Vintage Modern Settees
Cord
1780s English Antique Modern Settees
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Settees
Metal
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Settees
Leather, Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Settees
Steel
Early 20th Century French Modern Settees
Oak
Early 2000s Italian Modern Settees
Aluminum
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Settees
Metal
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Settees
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Settees
Walnut, Wood
2010s American Modern Settees
Upholstery, Oak
Mid-20th Century Modern Settees
Chrome
Early 2000s Italian Modern Settees
Wool, Cotton
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Settees
Leather, Wool, Bouclé
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Settees
Leather, Wool, Bouclé
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Settees
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Settees
Upholstery
1980s American Vintage Modern Settees
Mohair, Upholstery, Velvet, Alpaca
1980s French Vintage Modern Settees
Ultrasuede, Foam
1980s French Vintage Modern Settees
Ultrasuede, Foam
1980s French Vintage Modern Settees
Leather, Foam
1980s American Vintage Modern Settees
Upholstery, PVC
1980s Vintage Modern Settees
Chrome
1980s Vintage Modern Settees
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Settees
Leather