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Mid-Century Modern Paintings

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively. 

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

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Style: Mid-Century Modern
Textured Blue Painting Signed
Located in New York, NY
Heavily textured painting with white paint in the middle radiating to a dark blue. Signed Walker in the bottom left. Framed in aluminium frame....
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Framed Acrylic Abstract Painting of Geometric Shapes in Black, Red, and White
Located in New York, NY
Mid-century acrylic on canvas abstract painting featuring geometric shapes in black and red against a cream colored background in a rectangular black painted wooden frame.
Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Midcentury Mixed-Media Painting and Collage Signed Joule
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Charming mixed-media painting of a lion and palm trees executed with watercolor and gouache with applied metal. Presented in a silver leaf frame and titled Take a Chance. Joule is a...
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood

Mid Century Oil Painting
Located in London, London
Oil painting On canvas Gold frame Mid to late 20th century.
Category

Late 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Large Mad Men Style Framed Portrait Painting of a Man on Canvas, Signed, 1960s
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A very large framed portrait painting of a man in a giltwood frame. The subject in this piece depicts a man who reminds us of Don Draper from ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wire

Ardath Coldwell "Red Shoes" Original Oil Painting, circa 1960s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Ardath Coldwell (American, B.1913) "Red Shoes" original oil painting, circa 1960s Original oil on canvas by listed American artist Ardath Coldwell. A beautiful young woman wearing a blue dress and red shoes. Canvas dimensions 10" wide x 14" high. The frame measures 15.25" wide x 19.25" high. Signed in the lower right corner. Very good condition. Born in Portland, OR on Sept. 16, 1913. After attending high school in Salem, Coldwell moved to San Francisco in 1933. Enrolling at the CSFA, she studied under Ralph Stackpole...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Original 20th Century Abstract Painting by Rene Ravaute
By Rene Revaute
Located in Miami, FL
Stunning Mid-Century Modern oil on fibre board, abstract composition by listed French artist, Rene Revaute. Very interesting work, the outer edges give the impression that there are...
Category

20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint, Canvas

J. Vanneste, Oil on Canvas, circa 1960, Signed
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
J. Vanneste, oil on canvas, circa 1960, signed.
Category

1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Sandra Gierke Painting "Restive"
By Sandra Gierke
Located in Highland, IN
This wonderful abstraction by Sandra Gierke is executed in oil on linen. A very active painting with a vivacous composition, staccato shapes and lines, and a fantacstic, heavily work...
Category

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Linen

Original Bernard Damiano Mid-Century Painting
Located in Miami, FL
Original expressionist painting by Bernardo Damiano (also known as Bernard Damiano). He was an Italian expressionist painter and sculptor born on January 10, 1926 in Coni (Piemont...
Category

1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Italian 1970s Abstract Oil Paintings by Lauro Lessio
By Lauro Lessio
Located in Miami, FL
Lauro Lessio Italian 1970s Abstract oil paintings A pair of large abstract oil paintings by the Italian artist Lauro Lessio. In the "pittu...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Linen

Midcentury Scandinavian Oil Painting of a Woman in Original Frame, Denmark
Located in Berlin, DE
This midcentury Scandinavian oil painting of a woman working has its original frame and was painted in Denmark in the 1960s. A unique piece...
Category

1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Pine, Paint

Exquisite Julio Aguilera Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This stunning abstract by Julio Aguilera is sure to make a lasting impression in any home, business, or office. The elaborate colors, textured finish, a...
Category

Early 2000s South American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Painting “Motion” by Earl Daniels 'Midcentury 1960s' American Painter
By Earl Daniels
Located in San Diego, CA
Earl Daniels (1920-1999), California painter of landscapes, seascapes, coastal scenes, still- lives and abstracts, was born in New York City where he worked both as a commercial arti...
Category

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Modern Abstract Painting
Located in Atlanta, GA
Modern abstract painting. Dated 1962 and signed illegibly on verso. Retains original gilt and painted wood frame and linen mounting. Size noted below i...
Category

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paint

Mid-Century Modern Abstract Acrylic Painting
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Evocative abstract acrylic painting on canvas that explores the relationship between yellow and grey. Painted with acrylic on canvas in 1973 by Bonnie Lewton, titled on the back yell...
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Modernist Shaped Canvas Painting in Manner of Frank Stella, circa 1970s
By Kenneth Noland, Frank Stella
Located in Peabody, MA
Shaped canvas painting in the manner of Frank Stella or Kenneth Noland circa 1970s.
Category

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Oil on Canvas Elio Pelosi Neapolitan Painter Depicting the Characters, 1971
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Oil on canvas Elio Pelosi Neapolitan painter depicting the characters, 1971.
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Margaret Layton "Parker Street" New York City Gouache on Board, circa 1950s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Margaret Layton (American, 20th century)"Parker Street" New York City Gouache on board, circa 1950s Charming New York scene by artist Margaret Layton. The painting measures 10"...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Other

Modern Pop Art Elizabeth Taylor Portrait in Pencil by Bill Nelson, 1980
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Stunning early master illustration by Bill Nelson in his preferred medium of colored pencil for the Cincinnati Magazine cover story (May 1980). Framed. Ta...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint, Paper

1960s Abstract Dark Mystery Modern Oil Painting Masonite signed Worthington
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Art Painting Oil on Masonite board signed Worthington. 1960s USA Dark Mysterious Modern abstract composition. Dimensions: 25.5W x 29.5 H 1 thick, Art 23 x 19.5 Original patinated woo...
Category

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood, Masonite

Jean Claude Werdier Vintage Normandy Village Landscape, circa 1970s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Jean Claude Werdier (French painter Jean Claude Werdier was born in 1922. He later moved to the U.S. where he painted surrealist landscapes.) created this fine vintage Normandy villa...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Modern Abstract Long Oil on Canvas Figural Painting
Located in East Hampton, NY
Unknown artist and unsigned, this wonderful vintage oil on canvas in rectangle long form displays beautiful colorful characters in an abstract figural manner. Simple vintage and orig...
Category

1970s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

1950s Miguel Alvarez Acosta Pink Abstract Oil Painting Mexico
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1950s Art Pink Abstract painting Oil on Canvas by Miguel Alvarez Acosta former director of the INBA and cultural ambassador to Mexico. Mexican Modernism 28.5 h x 22.5 w x 1.13 d Ori...
Category

1950s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Oil on Canvas Abstract Cubism Painting in the manner of Jacques Villon
Located in Miami, FL
A bold colorful cubist abstract painting in the manner of Jacques Villon, signed and dated lower right “M. Jardet" and housed in a beautiful ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood

Selection of Paintings by Miriam Kubach
Located in Atlanta, GA
Selection of paintings by Miriam Kubach, American, circa 1950s. They are framed in vintage gilt frames. They are priced at $550 each.
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paper

Johannes Bévort, Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge
Located in CH
Johannes Hubertus Hendrikus "John" Bévort, (Utrecht 1917-1996 Schoorl) view of Manhattan Lower Eastside from the Brooklyn Bridge Johannes John H.H. Bévort was a pupil at the Artib...
Category

20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Artist Signed Mountain Scene Landscape, circa 1960
Located in Big Flats, NY
A vintage Mid-Century Modern oil on board painting depicts mountainous landscape with lake and village structures, lower left artist signed Balozs, framed, circa 1960 Measures: 31.2...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint, Wood

Extra Large Abstract Oil on Styrofoam by Guglielmo “Mino” Lusignoli, Italy
By Guglielmo Lusignoli 1
Located in London, GB
Mid-Century Modern Italian extra large abstract oil on Styrofoam by award winning architect and artist Guglielmo “Mino” Lusignoli (Parma 1920-2003), circa1960. In original chrome cu...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Polystyrene

"Vue du Port, St Tropez" by Yvonne Canu
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Oil on canvas, signed lower right. Canvas measurement: 21" x 29" and with frame measures 30" x 39". Provenance: Purchased from Hilde Gerst Gallery in NYC in 1990, Private Collectio...
Category

1980s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Large Mid-Century Original Oil on Canvas Abstract Painting by Patricia Sloane
Located in San Diego, CA
Large mid-century original oil on canvas abstract painting by Patricia Sloane, circa 1960s. Sloane was an American painter, author, and professor of Fine Arts at NYC Technical Colleg...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Mid-Century Original Oil on Canvas Abstract Painting by Patricia Sloane
Located in San Diego, CA
Mid-century original oil on canvas abstract painting by Patricia Sloane, circa 1960s. Sloane was an American painter, author, and professor of Fine Arts at NYC Technical College of t...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Adrian Contemporary Abstract Painting on Wood, 2020
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Contemporary abstract painting by Adrian, 2020 Mixed-media on wood. Handsigned and dated on the back. Materials: Wood Dimensions: D 4 cm x W 40 cm x H 40 cm.
Category

2010s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood

Set of Red and Blue Murano Glass Cenedese Vases & Abstract Modern Art Painting
Located in Landau an der Isar, Bayern
A wonderful set of blue and red Murano glass vases by Cenedese glass, Italy, circa 1990s and an informal abstract modernist oil painting signed by German artist Walter Wohlschlegel (...
Category

Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood, Blown Glass, Murano Glass

1950s Abstract Painting RKM
Located in Garnerville, NY
One of several pieces offered by the artist who signed their work, RKM. Purchased from a beautiful modern home in Briarcliff Manor, NY. The painstaking paint build up and careful har...
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Paint

Eleanor Coen Abstract Expressionist Painting, 1960's
Located in Phoenix, AZ
This multicolored expressionist style painting by American artist Eleanor Coen depicts the layered feeling of a city with its patchwork of buildings and l...
Category

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Abstract Woodblock Print Figural Black & White, Nudes, Salvatore Grippi, 1950s
Located in Brooklyn, NY
1950s abstract Expressionism Woodblock print on handmade paper Gorgeous, graphic early work from Grippi. Experimentation with woodblock p...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper

Henri Valachman " nature morte " Oil on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Henri Valachman (1925-2020) "nature morte " oil on canvas.
Category

1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Ed Bearden Oil on Canvas 'Edge of the Woods in Fall' 1974 Texas Artist
Located in Dallas, TX
Ed Bearden Edge of the woods in Fall Oil on canvas Texas, 1974 A Dallas native, Edward Bearden became a painter, teacher, graphic and commercial artist who was especially noted for presidential portraits and of actors in the movie Giant, when the movie was being made in Marfa, Texas. He moved with his family to St. Louis when he was ten years of age. There he studied three years in a children's program at the City Art Museum. He returned to Dallas where he attended high school and then received his baccalaureate in art at Southern Methodist University, (1941), working under Jerry Bywaters...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Robert Libeski Painting Lady with Dog 1946 Mixed Media
Located in Vienna, AT
A mixed media painting by Robert Libeski, which shows a Lady with Dog, 1946 in soft colors. Robert Libeski ( 1892 - 1988 ) Robert Libeski was activ in...
Category

1940s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper

Mid-Century Modern Style Oil Painting
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Colorful vintage modern Style oil painting signed and framed. "For he that catches the clouds". Please confirm item location (NY or NJ).
Category

1990s Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Signed Framed Vincent Abstract Painting Oil on Canvas Mid-Century Modern
Located in Miami, FL
Monumental Mid-Century Modern abstract painting in black, red and white. Signed by artist at the right bottom corner. The painting has a wooden frame but shows signs of wear to the f...
Category

1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Paint

Abstract Splatter Painting Signed by Artist
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This wonderful painting makes the perfect addition to any home, business, or office. Creative piece of art with many elaborate colors on the canvas. Please confirm item location ...
Category

1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Rajko Kovacevic La Biennale di Venezia
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Aquatinta art technique combination by Rajko Kovacevic Yugoslavian Academic artist he was leaving and work in Italy in the late 1970s and begging of eighties inspired by Venice Carnival .He got a prize in La Biennale di Venezia for the Icarus . Serbian painter incorporated old school: Intaglio and dry point and create the Icarus painting...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Large Painting by Jac. Haan, Manager of the Famous Metz en Co. Department Store
Located in Doornspijk, NL
Beautifully detailed large painting by Jac. Haan, interior architect and former manager of the furniture department of the famous Dutch department store Metz en Co...
Category

1990s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

David E. Gordon 'American, CT' Massive Signed Oil On Board, Still
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A very large and graphic still life of a pear, 20th-21st century. Originally painted as a private commission. Signed lower right. A huge red pear on a black ground fills the space. F...
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Midcentury Oil Painting on Canvas by Fouat Michel
Located in Dallas, TX
Midcentury oil painting on canvas by Fouat Michel is a splendid example of the artist's work, with a Minimalist influence in the design countered by bold contrast using somewhat subdued earth tones to create an intriguing, fantastic landscape. Note how Michel creates depth between the sky, the distant hills, the closer hills, the rolling plains and the foreground which appears in a shadowy color shift. Italian cypress...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Portrait of an Elegant Woman, Signed Hugo Scheiber
Located in New York, NY
Watercolor / painting signed Hugo Scheiber: Budapest (1873-1950). Hugo Scheiber was born in Budapest in 1873. At the age of eight, he moved with his family from Budapest to Vienna. ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Hungarian Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Charles Hersey Vintage Modernist Op-Art Painting, circa 1971
Located in San Francisco, CA
Charles Hersey vintage modernist op-art painting, circa 1971 Brilliant 1970s acrylic painting by San Francisco artist Charles Hersey. The painting...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

"Nude with Umbrella, " Mid-Century Modern Male Nude by du Bois, Tony Award Winner
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vividly painted in tones of turquoise, canary yellow and warm brown, this extraordinary depiction of a slender Black male nude holding an umbrella -- in our opinion a Mid-Century Mod...
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

African Painting by Adingra
Located in Antwerp, BE
African painting stone on burlap by Adingra, 1983, France - Cote d'Ivoire. Measures: Height 61 cm, width 39 cm, depth 2 cm.
Category

Mid-20th Century Ivorian Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Sandstone

Henri Valachman "gouter aux poires" Oil on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Henri Valachman (1925-2020) "gouter aux poires" oil on canvas.
Category

1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Henri Valachman "L'instant Fragile" Oil on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Henri VALACHMAN (1925-2020) "L'instant fragile" oil on canvas.
Category

1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Wonderful MCM Acrylic Painting by C.A. Long---1960s USA
By C.A. Long 1
Located in Miami, FL
Beautiful framed MCM geometric acrylic painting by C.A.Long. Perfect for any MCM setting in terms of color and composition. 1960s USA
Category

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Colorful Modernist Painting on Canvas
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Modernist painting on canvas with a vibrant palette and a still life cityscape composition with a cubist edge. Signed by the noted artist Arnold Weber in the lower left.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Painting, Signed, Midcentury Art, Framed, C 1950, Green, Red and Taupe Colors
Located in New York, NY
Decorative painting of a young lady, midcentury. Signed. Very good condition, circa 1950.
Category

1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

French Aquarelle "Woman on a Dance Floor" 1970
Located in Labrit, Landes
Original aquarelle "Woman on a Dance Floor", circa 1970 The original painting is carefully glued to a light cardboard support. To be framed. Very good c...
Category

1970s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper

Impasto Oil Painting Floral Still Life 1960s style of William Dobell
Located in Melbourne, AU
An excellent and very stylish impasto oil on board of Ranunculus flowers in an urn vase. The expressionist impasto paint application is fascinating. Clearly the work of a competent colourist. It really evokes the texture of Ranunculas flowers, their weight and the vibrancy of their colour. Unsigned, dating from the 1960s. The style is Expressionist. It reminds us of the work of William Dobell...
Category

1960s Australian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Softwood, Masonite, Paint

Mid-century Modern paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern paintings for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage paintings created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, folk art, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with fabric, paint and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern paintings made in a specific country, there are North America, United States, and Europe pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original paintings, popular names associated with this style include Peter Keil, Jacob Semiatin, Daniel Clesse, and Charles Levier. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for paintings differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $45 and tops out at $275,000 while the average work can sell for $1,851.

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