Modern Side 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 20th Century Italian Modern Side Chairs
Maple
1950s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Oak
20th Century Modern Side Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Leather
Early 2000s American Modern Side Chairs
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s French Modern Side Chairs
Concrete
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Other
2010s French Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Pine
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Pine
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Swedish Modern Side Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Ceramic, Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Emirian Modern Side Chairs
Fiberglass, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Metal
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
1990s American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Turkish Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Side Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Side Chairs
Leather
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Marble
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Hardwood
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Resin
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Marble
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Ash
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel