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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
Early 20th Century Unknown Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s French Modern Furniture
Antler, Plywood
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Stone, Travertine
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
20th Century Indian Modern Furniture
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1990s American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
1990s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Furniture
Glass
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Nickel, Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Furniture
Slate, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Fabric, Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Furniture
Jacquard
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood, Chenille, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Lucite
2010s Indonesian Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Yarn
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Leather, Zebra Hide, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass