Modern Decorative 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Other
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plastic
Mid-20th Century European Modern Decorative Art
Wool
1990s European Modern Decorative Art
Copper
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Crystal, Metal, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
20th Century German Modern Decorative Art
Paint, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum
1970s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Walnut
Early 20th Century British Modern Decorative Art
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Brass
Late 19th Century Welsh Antique Modern Decorative Art
Pine
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
2010s Nepalese Modern Decorative Art
Wool
2010s Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Plastic
1950s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1950s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Fabric
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Paper
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Blown Glass
20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Tapestry, Wool