Modern Furniture

MODERN STYLE

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.

Style: Modern

Creator: Karl Springer

Karl Springer Rare "Regency Armchair" Desk Chair 1980s

Modern Furniture

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Rare "Regency Armchair" Desk Chair 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "Ming Writing Desk" in Embossed Leather 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Rare Adjustable Magnifying Lens in Polished Chrome 1980s

Mid-20th Century American Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Snake-Textured Leather and Bronze Regency Modern Cocktail Table

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of Candle Holders in Brass with Chrome Accents, 1980s

1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of "Souffle Ottomans" with Polished Gunmetal Bases, 1970s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Jansen Style Dining Table in Polished Gunmetal and Brass 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Rare Jansen Style Console Table in Polished Chrome and Brass 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Rare Credenza in Taupe Leather and Brass 1985 'Signed and Dated'

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Superbly Crafted End Table in Brass with Zebra Wood Top, 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Large "Candlestick Table Lamp" in Brushed Nickel 1980s

1980s Vintage Modern Furniture

Set of 4 Karl Springer Onassis Bar Stools

1980s Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of Souffle Ottomans

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of "JMF Barstools" in Black Lizard Leather 1986 'Signed'

1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Large Wall Hanging Mirror in Python, 1970s

1980s Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of Souffle Ottomans

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Embossed Leather Cocktail Tables by Karl Springer

1990s American Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of "JMF Chairs" in Lacquered Raffia 1993 'Signed'

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Rare Wall-Mounted Mirror in Polished Chrome and Brass 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer & Lynn Shelton, Coffee Table, Painted Paper, Wood, America, c 1980

1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Petit Coffee Table in Lacquered Linen 1970s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "Chinese Cube Style Coffee Table" in Platinum Leaf 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "Souffle Ottoman" with Polished Steel Base, 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Large Dining Table with Stone Mosaic Surface by Karl Springer

Early 2000s American Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Classic Parsons Side Table, 2000s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Rare Pair of Monumental Illuminated "Athena Pedestals" 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Hinged Box in Brown and Black Cobra, 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Set of 3 Unique Candle Holders in Lucite, 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "J.M.F. Chair" in Embossed Lizard Leather 1982 'Signed'

1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Large Dining Table in Goatskin with Brass Bases 1970s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Set of 4 Swiveling "Onassis Bar Stools" in Suede 1980s

Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Stainless Steel Coffee Table with Brass and Glass Top

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "Metal Ball Lamp" in Polished Chrome 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer 6-Arm Hand-Blown Glass Chandelier with Scavo Finish 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "Chinese Cube Style Coffee Table" in Lacquered Linen, 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer "Bullet Up Light" in Gold-Tinted Brass 1980s

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Pair of Jmf Chairs in Ostrich Skin, 1982, 'Signed'

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Original Karl Springer Television Cabinet 1989 Goatskin

1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture

Karl Springer Dowelwood Lounge Chair, 1980s

1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture