Mid-Century Modern Furniture

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern 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.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s 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 pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture 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, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Curtis Jeré

Mid-Century Modern Large Round Porthole Wall Mirror in Gold Brass by Curtis Jere

Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Modern Large Round Porthole Wall Mirror in Gold Brass by Curtis Jere

1990s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere "Raindrops" Sculptural Wall Mirror

Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

MCM Kinetic Painted Steel Mobile by C. Jere for Artisian House

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Signed Mid Century Modern Skyscraper Table Lamp by Curtis Jere in Mirror Chrome

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere Overlapping Multicolor Butterfly Shape Sculpture Dated 1990 MINT!

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Original Vintage Mid Century Curtis Jere Brass Raindrops Mirror Wall Sculpture

Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere Wheat Sheath Chrome and Brass Mid Century Modern Floor Lamp

1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

A Pair Of Curtis Jere Triangular Brass Mirrors 1982

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Curtis Jere "Sea Gulls" Brass Sculpture for Artisan Housev

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere Mid Century Brass Sea Urchin Wall Sculpture

Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere "Raindrops" Chrome Sculptural Wall Mirror by Jonathan Adler

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Brutalist "Raindrops" Wall Sculpture in Brass Signed Curtis Jere

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

C. Jeré metal wall art classic bird design

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Modernist Kinetic Table Sculpture by C. Jeré

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Curtis Jere "Raindrop" Chrome Sculpture for Artisan House

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Metal Sandpipers Wall Sculpture by Curtis Jere, Signed

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere "Birds in Flight" Bronze Sculpture, circa 1976

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Z Bookend by Curtis Jere Signed & Dated 1971 in Gold Leaf Finish

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Grand "Nest" Light Sculpture Flush Chandelier, Mid-Century Modern

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Fabulous Curtis Jere Signed Brutalist Golden Gate Bridge Wall Sculpture Hanging

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Pair of Curtis Jere Stainless Steel Lamps and Shades

1980s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Rare Large Curtis Jere Abstract Brass Sculpture

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage Curtis Jere Large Brutalist Brass Owl Sculpture Mid Century Modern 1960s

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Signed Curtis Jere Metal Wall Sculpture

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Jere Raindrop Lily Pad Style Chrome Wall Hanging Sculpture Mid Century Modern

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Rare Flying Birds Sculpture in Bronze Finish Raw Marble Base Signed Jere

1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

C. Jere Aviator Sunglasses Mirror, Brushed Silver, Signed

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jeré Sculpture , Stainless / Brass with Marble Base, Signed

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere Mars & Venus Gold Gilt Bookends Sculptures Signed Jeré, 1968

Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere Signed Raindrops Wall Sculpture

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Signed MCM Curtis Jeré Brass Bead Willow Tree Wall Sculpture - circa 1984

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1979 C. Jeré metal urchin or pom pom large sculpture

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Vintage "Maple Leaf" Wall Sculpture by Curtis Jere

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

1979 C. Jeré brass dandelion, pom pom or sea urchin wall art sculpture

Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Brass Sailboat Sculpture Art by Curtis Jere

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Kinetic Metal Sculpture on Marble Base by C. Jere

Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Mid-Century Sailboat Brass Sculptural Wall Art by C. Jere

Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Curtis Jere Signed Raindrops Wall Sculpture

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Furniture

20th Century American Vintage Metal Wall Mirror - Raindrops by Curtis Jere

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Furniture