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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Art
Crystal
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Modern Decorative Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Cut Glass
2010s Peruvian Modern Decorative Art
Stone
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Steel
1990s Swedish Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1970s Finnish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Scagliola
20th Century English Modern Decorative Art
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Art
Linen, Wood, Beads, Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Brass, Pewter
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Scagliola, Wood
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Decorative Art
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Iron
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Pottery, Wood
20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Brass, Steel
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Masonite, Paper
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Latex, Paint
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plexiglass, Wood, Paper
1960s English Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Plastic
1950s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1970s Hungarian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Colombian Modern Decorative Art
Textile, Canvas, Thread
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Wood, Crayon
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Guatemalan Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Gold Leaf
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Plexiglass
1990s Swedish Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
Mid-20th Century Israeli Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Modern Decorative Art
Resin
1940s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plastic
2010s South African Modern Decorative Art
Wire
2010s Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Faience, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
1980s Finnish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Stainless Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
2010s Malaysian Modern Decorative Art
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Gold Leaf