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
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
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
Recognized Seller Listings
White and Pink Floral Arrangement Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) still life oil painting of white and pink flowers with greenery arranged in a ceramic jug, on rectangular, unframed canvas.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Black and Red Pileated Woodpecker Painting on Wood
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) Audubon-style painting of a black and red pileated woodpecker seated on a large stump against a clouded white background, p...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Wood
Woman and Children Outdoor Tea Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas oil painting of a woman wearing a long pink dress setting a table for tea alongside a home, while two children pla...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Floral Arrangement and Peaches Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas still life oil painting depicting a blue vase filled with blossoming pink, yellow and white florals behind a golden tray...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Pink Florals and Peaches Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas still life oil painting depicting a blue vase filled with blossoming pink, yellow and white florals behind a golden tray...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Group of Sheep in Field Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) oil painting capturing a group of sheep huddled in a field of browns and greens, under a cloudy, darkening sky on rectangular, unframed canvas.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Oil Painting of Lavender and Pink Flowers in a Vase
Located in New York, NY
Mid-century still life oil painting of a blue vase filled with lavender and pink flowers on a brown tabletop against a blue mottled background on canvas in a rectangular stained wood...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Black and Red Pileated Woodpecker Painting on Wood
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) Audubon-style painting of a black and red pileated woodpecker seated on a large stump against a clouded white background, p...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Wood
Framed Still Life Painting of a Variety of Wildflowers in a Brown Vase with Inse
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century still life painting of a bouquet of assorted flowers in a brown vase on a table with butterflies and insects in a yellow and beige double mat and rectangular giltwood fra...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Glass, Acrylic, Wood, Giltwood, Paper
Vintage Victorian Woman at Desk Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) oil painting of a Victorian woman engaged in correspondence, seen with a feather quill in hand and seated at a desk, with romantic flourishes of florals and an...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Cattle Resting in a Field Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) oil painting depicting a group of dairy cows relaxing in a field with a background of sweeping flat planes interrupted only by a single tree, on rectangular un...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Feeding Fowl Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) oil painting depicting varied fowl, including chickens, chicks, pigeons and doves, pecking straw from both the ground and a bucket, on rectangular unframed can...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Heroic Gladiator and Blue Tent Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) unframed canvas oil painting of a gladiator seated in front of a blue tent with gold fringed drapes, making a grand gesture while four others look on adoringly...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Town Square Aerial View Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) painting of an 18th century town square captured from above, depicting figures moving throughout, greenery and lanes in the center, and buildings far into the ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Horses in Autumn Forest Painting on Wood
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) painting on wood depicting a group of horses gathered in a forest of red, peach, white and light blue trees, and a forest floor captured by allowing woodgrain ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Wood
Birch Tree Lined Road and Landscape Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) acrylic landscape painting of a road lined with birch trees that are shedding their leaves, and figures walking in the distance, captured on rectangular, unfra...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Vintage Victorian Woman at Desk Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) oil painting of a Victorian woman engaged in correspondence, seen with a feather quill in hand and seated at a desk, with romantic flourishes of florals and an...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Floral Arrangement in White Vase Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas oil painting of a white and gold vase holding an abundant arrangement of white, pink, purple and red floral...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Woman in Bathing Suit Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) portrait of a woman wearing a blue bathing suit, seated amidst white abstract patterns representing falling and splashing water, painted on rectangular unframe...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Still Life Oil Painting of a Flower Arrangement and Scattered Grapes and
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century oil on canvas still life painting of a vase filled with assorted flowers next to a basket full of fruit on a table covered in fruit and grapes in a rectangular carved gil...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Giltwood
Framed Woman with Child Portrait Oil Painting
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) oil painting of a woman holding a thumb-sucking child on her knee, against a nature-filled background, in a rectangular, giltwood frame.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Giltwood
Dogs Gathered on Steps Portrait Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) portrait of four stately dogs in various positions on sandstone-colored steps leading to a walkway that winds through a lush green lawn...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Portrait of a Basset Hound in Nature Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) portrait of a brown and white basset hound captured on a path amid grasses and autumnal plants and trees, on a large rectangular unframed canvas.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Lithograph of Two Multi-Colored Tropical Fish
Located in New York, NY
Mid-century lithograph of two multi-colored tropical fish in profile in a taupe and light blue double mat and a rectangular silver and green frame. (signed, LYNN BAKER) (Available in...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paper
Mid-Century American Louise Stern Black and Beige Abstract Etching in Silver
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century American black and beige abstract etching in silver rectangular frame with a cream mat. (LOUISE STERN) Artist Proof, Signed.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Metal
Castle on a Rocky Cliff at Sea Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) painting of a castle on a rocky cliff over the sea with figures seen on the beach and the castle grounds, and a sailboat ju...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Panoramic Landscape and Manor House Painting
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) panoramic landscape painting of a manor house and surrounding gardens on wide, narrow rectangular canvas in a black-painted ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood
Framed Acrylic Still Life Painting of a Wine Bottle and Fruit on a Windowsill Ov
Located in New York, NY
Mid-century acrylic still life painting depicting a wine bottle and a plate of fruit on a windowsill in the foreground, overlooking a garden and village scene through the window beyond on rectangular canvas in an antiqued silver painted...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood, Giltwood
Portrait of Tiger with Cubs Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) painting of a tiger lying with two sleeping cubs in a darkened cave or den, on rectangular, unframed canvas.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Lithograph of Two Tropical Fish
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century lithograph of two multi-colored tropical fish in profile in a taupe and light blue double mat and a rectangular silver and green frame. (signed, LYNN BAKER) (Available in...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paper
Framed Oil Painting of a Colonial Garden and River
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century oil on canvas genre scene painting depicting people tending to a colonial garden next to a river outside of the city walls with large buildings on the horizon in a rectan...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Giltwood
Portrait of Woman in Garden Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage neoclassical-style (20th century) oil painting capturing a woman in a billowing white dress standing in a garden brimming with pink roses, with sea and sky in distant view. P...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Mid-Century Still Life Oil Painting of a Basket of Flower and Bow in a Giltwood
Located in New York, NY
Rectangular oil on canvas still life painting of a basket of assorted flowers tied with a blue bow against a dark background in a rectangular carved giltwood frame.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood
Group of Sheep in Field Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) oil painting capturing a group of sheep huddled in a field of browns and greens, under a cloudy, darkening sky on rectangular, unframed canvas .
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Black and Red-Crested Pileated Woodpecker Painting on Wood
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) Audubon-style painting of a black and red-crested pileated woodpecker seated on a large stump against a clouded white backg...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Wood
Framed Vintage Chinese Acylic Abstract Painting of Shapes, Waves, and Fans
Located in New York, NY
Vintage Chinese acrylic on canvas abstract painting of black and warm toned multi-colored swirls and waves interspersed with florals, leaves, and fans in a rectangular black painted ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
Framed Autumnal Wooded Path Oil Painting
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) painting of a figure sitting alongside a path cutting through vividly colored autumnal woods and ending at a body of water and mountains, on rectangular canvas...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood
Portrait of a Woman in a Blue Dress Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) painting portraying a seated woman in a vivid blue dress with her hands folded in her lap, against an abstractly painted background of land, sky and town, on a...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Portrait of a Basset Hound in Nature Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) portrait of a brown and white basset hound captured lying on a path with a house and landscape scenery in the distance, on a large, rectangular unframed canvas.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Townspeople Working Waterside Vignette Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) genre painting depicting two figures working outdoors in front of a lake with a sailboat, and red-roofed houses and green trees beyond the water, surrounded by...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Heroic Gladiator and Blue Tent Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed painting of a gladiator seated in front of a blue tent with gold fringed drapes, making a grand gesture while four others look on adoringly, on unfram...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Woman and Children Outdoor Tea Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas oil painting of a woman wearing a long pink dress setting a table for tea alongside a home, while two children pla...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
White and Pink Floral Arrangement Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) still life oil painting of white and pink flowers with greenery arranged in a ceramic jug, on rectangular, unframed canvas.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Pink Florals and Peaches Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas still life oil painting depicting a blue vase filled with blossoming pink, yellow and white florals behind a golden tray...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Floral Arrangement and Peaches Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas still life oil painting depicting a blue vase filled with blossoming pink, yellow and white florals behind a golden tray...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Landscape and Travelers Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) oil painting depicting a group of people with horses and dogs traveling on a path through autumnal woods in the foreground, and a vast, open landscape with sof...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Rooster in Nature Print on Wood
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) print of a rooster standing on red clay and looking to the side, in front of a blue pond and autumnal trees, on plywood.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Wood
English Art Moderne Oil Painting of a Horse Race at the Stewart's Cup
Located in New York, NY
English Art Moderne (Mid 20th Cent) oil painting of Stewart's Cup horse race in wood frame.
Category
20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Wood
Framed Still Life Oil Painting of a Flower Arrangement and Scattered Grapes and
Located in New York, NY
Mid-century oil still life painting of a vase filled with assorted flowers next to a basket full of fruit on a table covered in fruit and grapes in a rectangular carved giltwood fram...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Giltwood, Wood
Framed Oil Still Life of an Abundant Wildflower Bouquet
Located in New York, NY
Mid-Century oil on canvas still life painting of a beige and blue vase filled with an abundance of flowers against a brown background in a rectangular black painted wooden frame.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood
Gathering at the Riverbank Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th century) painting capturing four figures gathering on the riverbank while buildings with classical architecture loom just across the river, surrounded by a thin brown b...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Acrylic Landscape Painting of Lakeside Buildings in Autumn
Located in New York, NY
Mid-century acrylic landscape painting of a reflective lake in the foreground surrounded by white stone buildings with a hilltop in the background surrounded by autumn trees on canva...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Village and Waters Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Vintage (20th Century) unframed canvas oil painting of a walled-off waterside village, capturing the sunlit buildings in contrast to the darker waters, and dotted with figures rowing...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
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
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
Angelo Testa Painting
By Angelo Testa
Located in Chicago, IL
Angelo Testa, untitled, watercolor on paper, 13 1/4" x 16"
Signed "angelo testa" lower right recto, framed circa 1950
Testa studied fine art painting and sculpture at the Chicago In...
Category
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paper
Painting by Gert Marcus, Komposition
By Gert Marcus
Located in Stockholm, SE
Gert Marcus (1914-2008): "Rött och Mörkt grått", signed and dated 1960-1963, oil on canvas, 61 x 122 cm. Exhibited: Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockh...
Category
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
1960s Mural Sized Architectural Oil Rendering by Richard Bobby
By Richard Bobby
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A very large, oil on canvas, rendering of a future building for Crest Corp drawn in 1966 of John F. Kennedy Blvd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Signed "Richard Bobby 9.66 Crest Corp ...
Category
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
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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