Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests. The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Bamboo, Paper
1960s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Copper, Enamel
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Concrete
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
1950s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Cotton
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Cotton
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Majolica, Ceramic, Faience
Late 20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Wood
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Paint, Paper
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Glass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Wood, Paper
1960s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1960s Spanish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Pottery
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Paint
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Bronze, Enamel, Pewter
1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Brass
1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Plastic
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Gold
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Linen, Paint, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
20th Century Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Majolica, Pottery, Ceramic
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Paint, Paper
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Cotton, Wool
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Resin, Plaster, Lacquer
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Enamel
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Cotton
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Metal
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint, Canvas, Velvet
1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Canvas, Paint
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Wood
1960s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Clay, Ceramic, Pottery
20th Century South African Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Tapestry, Wool
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Stone
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Enamel