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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1940s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Stoneware
20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s English Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
Late 20th Century Israeli Modern Decorative Art
Paper
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1990s American Modern Decorative Art
Plywood
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Masonite, Paint, Paper
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1990s French Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Brass
Late 20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Hardwood, Paint, Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
1990s American Modern Decorative Art
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plexiglass
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Other
1970s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood, Cotton
1990s American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s English Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1980s North American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Copper, Enamel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Murano Glass
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plaster
1990s American Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1990s French Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1960s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1990s Modern Decorative Art
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Lacquer, Paint, Paper
Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1950s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Resin, Acrylic
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Mirror
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Slate, Sandstone
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Decorative Art
Faience
1990s Moroccan Modern Decorative Art
Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1980s Moroccan Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
20th Century North American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint, Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Wood, Paint
20th Century English Modern Decorative Art
Paper