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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Furniture
Sheepskin, Hickory, Leather
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
20th Century Modern Furniture
Glass, Blown Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Cedar
2010s Swedish Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wool
1990s French Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
1970s Brazilian Vintage Modern Furniture
Copper, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Textile
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Iron
2010s British Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Marble, Stone, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Dutch Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Velvet, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Earthenware, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Travertine
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Plexiglass
Early 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Stoneware
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Walnut, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Velvet
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome