Modern Desks and Writing Tables
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
1990s Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Palisander
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
1970s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
1970s Brazilian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
1980s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Onyx
1970s Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rattan, Reed, Glass, Wood, Lacquer
Late 20th Century American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Goatskin, Wood, Lacquer
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
1990s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
1990s Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Stone
1970s Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Laminate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Stainless Steel, Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel, Chrome
1990s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Gold, Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
1970s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
Late 20th Century French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
1970s Argentine Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Steel
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Cocobolo
1990s American Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1970s Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
Late 20th Century British Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Stone
1980s European Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Birdseye Maple