Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Gold Leaf
1870s Italian Antique Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Gold
2010s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Colombian Modern Furniture
Stone, Quartz, Gold
2010s American Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Bronze, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Chenille
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Gold
2010s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Iron
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Chenille
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
2010s French Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet, Faux Leather, Wood
2010s South African Modern Furniture
Steel
1980s European Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s American Modern Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Chenille
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Chenille
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s European Modern Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Modern Furniture
Bronze
20th Century Modern Furniture
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s English Modern Furniture
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Gold