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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plexiglass, Acrylic
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Marble, Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Rubber
1960s Vintage Modern Furniture
Shell
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Faux Leather, Walnut, Bentwood
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper, Linen
1960s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1960s Romanian Vintage Modern Furniture
Cane, Bentwood
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Cotton, Wool
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas, Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper, Linen
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Enamel, Steel, Chrome
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Silver Plate
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Marble
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool
1960s Austrian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
1960s Brazilian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s Vintage Modern Furniture
Other
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Ash
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Furniture
Concrete
1960s Greenlandic Vintage Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1960s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold Leaf
1960s Finnish Vintage Modern Furniture
Birch
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Lucite
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood, Burl
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Copper, Enamel
1960s Vintage Modern Furniture
Lucite
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Canvas
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1960s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Porcelain
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Furniture
Concrete
1960s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Paint
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Other
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Bouclé, Wood
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s Indian Vintage Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Cane, Teak
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Furniture
Other
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver, Enamel, Gold, Gold Plate
1960s Scandinavian Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal