Modern Swivel 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Faux Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel, Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s Norwegian Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
1990s French Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
1980s Austrian Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
1990s French Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s French Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Maple
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1990s Swiss Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Plastic
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Brocade
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Sheepskin, Bouclé, Upholstery
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum, Stainless Steel
1970s German Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Silk
1970s German Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Suede
Late 20th Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Faux Leather
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Ultrasuede
Late 20th Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Silk, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass