Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Bouclé, Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Velvet
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wool, Beech
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Mohair, Wood
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Velvet
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wool, Walnut
1980s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wrought Iron
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Bamboo
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Elm
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather, Faux Fur, Wood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Walnut
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wool, Beech
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Metal
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Teak
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wood, Fabric
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Jacquard, Beech
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wood
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Beech
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1950s Brazilian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Teak
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather, Teak
1940s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wood, Fabric
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather, Faux Fur, Wood
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1970s Norwegian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather, Rosewood
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wool, Beech
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Wood
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Jacquard, Beech
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Bamboo, Rattan
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather, Faux Fur, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Mahogany
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
2010s North American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1940s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Oak
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Hide, Sheepskin, Walnut
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wool, Beech
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Brass
1940s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Wood
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wingback Chairs
Brass