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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Canvas, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Nickel
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Paint, Paper
20th Century Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Plaster
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Rush, Wood
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Argentine Modern Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century European Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Amethyst, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold, Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Crystal, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass, Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Gold
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Rosewood
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Bone, Shagreen, Wood
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Metal, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Goatskin, Wood, Lacquer
2010s Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold