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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s American Modern Decorative Art
Plywood
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Wood, Crayon
2010s British Modern Decorative Art
Leather
2010s Indian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
2010s European Modern Decorative Art
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1950s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Paint
2010s British Modern Decorative Art
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum
1940s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Mirror, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Decorative Art
Marble
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Fabric
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century French Modern Decorative Art
Canvas
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Decorative Art
Silk, Acrylic
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Decorative Art
Wood
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Decorative Art
Wood
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Grasscloth, Paper
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Paper
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1950s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
20th Century Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Moroccan Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plaster
2010s Finnish Modern Decorative Art
Wood
1940s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1970s Hungarian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1990s French Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Lacquer, Paint, Paper
2010s Peruvian Modern Decorative Art
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Majolica
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Decorative Art
Resin, Wood, Walnut
1990s American Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Decorative Art
Marble
1960s British Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Guatemalan Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Decorative Art
Iron
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Steel
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Wood, Lacquer, Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Wood, Paint
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Plexiglass, Giltwood, Paper
2010s Spanish Modern Decorative Art
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Glass
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Paper