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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wood
20th Century English Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Enamel
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1990s American Modern Furniture
Birch
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Silver Plate
1990s French Modern Furniture
Paper
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Sterling Silver
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
20th Century Australian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
20th Century Unknown Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Furniture
Beech
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Stone, Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Leather, Mirror
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Glass
Late 20th Century German Modern Furniture
Porcelain
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wood, Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Chrome
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Brass, Wrought Iron
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Walnut
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Rush, Oak
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Lucite, Plexiglass
Late 20th Century Fijian Modern Furniture
Leather, Palmwood
Late 20th Century Uzbek Modern Furniture
Metallic Thread
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Stone, Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Pewter
Mid-20th Century American Modern Furniture
Fabric
1970s Brazilian Vintage Modern Furniture
Suede, Rosewood
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Zebra Hide
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Pine
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Furniture
Lucite, Wood
20th Century Unknown Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Swedish Modern Furniture
Other
20th Century English Modern Furniture
Fabric, Beech
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
20th Century Turkish Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
Late 20th Century German Modern Furniture
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Furniture
Brass
1940s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
20th Century Modern Furniture
Silver
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Porcelain
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
20th Century Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Iron
1990s Modern Furniture
Lacquer
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Plaster, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Leather, Plywood
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass