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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Paper
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Stoneware
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Lava
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Resin, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paint, Canvas
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Fabric, Wood
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Mirror
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Gesso, Paint
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Pottery, Wood
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal
1980s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Copper, Enamel
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Steel
1980s British Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Metal, Brass, Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Stoneware
1980s Finnish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Murano Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Lacquer, Paint, Paper
1980s North American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Copper, Enamel
1980s Moroccan Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plexiglass
1980s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Bronze
1980s European Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass, Wood
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Other
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1980s Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Other
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Plastic