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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
1980s Hong Kong Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic
1920s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Fabric, Mahogany
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1940s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Clay
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Gold Plate
20th Century Japanese Modern Furniture
Bamboo
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
1990s British Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plexiglass, Acrylic
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wicker
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Faux Bamboo, Rattan
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Silver, Copper
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Textile, Fruitwood
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Nickel
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Bronze
1990s Japanese Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Bronze
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Glass
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Alabaster
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
Late 20th Century Chinese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Lucite, Plexiglass
1990s French Modern Furniture
Shagreen, Glass, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood, Walnut, Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Opaline Glass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Plaster, Wood
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Plywood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Cement, Metal
1990s American Modern Furniture
Nickel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
20th Century Modern Furniture
Walnut
20th Century Spanish Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Belgian Modern Furniture
Crystal
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Textile
1990s European Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Silver Plate, Metal
1950s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain