Modern Contemporary Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s British Modern Contemporary Art
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1980s German Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
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1960s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
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1970s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s British Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
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20th Century North American Modern Contemporary Art
Linen, Natural Fiber, Paint
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Faience, Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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Late 20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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Early 2000s Spanish Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Contemporary Art
Sheet Metal, Metal, Sterling Silver, Brass, Silver
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Danish Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Danish Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Clay, Organic Material
2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Contemporary Art
Clay, Organic Material
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s German Modern Contemporary Art
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1960s American Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Contemporary Art
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20th Century American Modern Contemporary Art
Resin, Paint
Early 2000s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Aluminum
2010s North American Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s British Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Argentine Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
Fabric, Polyester, Wood
1970s Vintage Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s British Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Argentine Modern Contemporary Art
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Late 20th Century Russian Modern Contemporary Art
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20th Century Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Contemporary Art
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Early 2000s Argentine Modern Contemporary Art
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21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s Italian Modern Contemporary Art
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1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
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1990s Swiss Modern Contemporary Art
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2010s American Modern Contemporary Art
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Late 20th Century Israeli Modern Contemporary Art
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