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 celebrated 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.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. 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
1950's French Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Red Fine Landscape
Located in Cirencester, GB
French Landscape
by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century)
original watercolour/ gouache painting on artist paper, unframed
size: 9.5 x 6.25 inches
condition: very good and read...
Category
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Other
1950's French Modernist / Cubist Painting Signed, Orange and Pink Landscape
Located in Cirencester, GB
French Landscape
by Bernard Labbe (French mid-20th century)
Signed original watercolour/ gouache painting on artist paper , mounted on card, unframed
Size: 15.75 x 12 inches
Cond...
Category
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Other
1950's French Modernist/ Cubist Painting Signed, Orange Building Landscape
Located in Cirencester, GB
Orange Building
by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century)
Signed original watercolour/ gouache painting on board, unframed
Size: 9.75 x 12.75 inches
Condition: very good and rea...
Category
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Other
1950's French Modernist/ Cubist Painting Signed, the Three Boats
Located in Cirencester, GB
Three boats
by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century)
Signed original watercolour/ gouache mounted painting on paper board, unframed
Size: 11 x 12.5 inches
Condition: very good ...
Category
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Other
20th Century German Modernist Oil Painting Figures Colorful Street Scene
Located in Cirencester, GB
Artist: Elisabeth Hahn (German 1924-2021),
Elisabeth Hahn was born in Dortmund, Germany, where she began her artistic studies. In 1953, she moved to Paris. She continued her stud...
Category
20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Other
1950's French Modernist/ Cubist Painting Signed - Male Portrait
Located in Cirencester, GB
Male Portrait
by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century)
Signed original watercolour/ gouache painting on board, unframed
Size: 11 x 10.5 inches
Condition: very good and ready to...
Category
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Other
Vintage Midcentury Abstract Landscape Signed Oil
Located in west palm beach, FL
Fantastic monumental signed abstract oil painting. A beautiful and serene landscape. Lovely soft colors. Signed Havilland. Acquired from a Palm Beach estate.
Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Painting on Canvas of a Crow
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Striking acrylic painting on canvas of a crow with a familiar quizzical expression in a colorful baron landscape. Presented in a paint decorated wood frame and signed on the back Tay...
Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Irina Shtenberg, Portrait of a Young Woman, Watercolor on Paper, circa 1940s
Located in New York, NY
Unsigned.
Attributed to Irina Valeryanovna Shtenberg.
Period frame.
Dimensions (unframed): Height: 13”, width: 11”
Dimensions (framed): Height: 15”, width: 12-7/8”
All the w...
Category
1940s Russian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paper
Blue Framed Mid-Century Modern Abstract Pop Art on Canvas 1980
Located in Miami, FL
Mid-Century Modern unique abstract art on canvas, circa 1980s.
Professionally framed at the Artist's Location.
Art Size: 41 x 29 inches.
O-582-335
Category
1980s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Wood
"Charon Rowing Souls to the Afterlife, " Striking Midcentury Mixed-Media Painting
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Bold and striking, this depiction of Charon rowing departed souls to the afterlife was painted by Richard Schwarzkopf, renowned for his paintings and illustrations in what has been called the German Expressionist Art...
Category
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
"Dressing for the Ballet, " Large, Evocative Masterpiece Painting by Stull, 1953
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Ethereal and magical, this Mid-Century masterpiece is strongly reminiscent of the back stage scenes of ballet dancers painted by Degas, but with figures that are suggestive of Guy Pene duBois. The painter, John De Forest...
Category
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Brussels Street Scene Painting on Canvas, Victor Petré, Belgium, circa 1960
Located in Brussels, BE
Brussels street scene painting on canvas - Victor Petré, Belgium, circa 1960.
Category
1960s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Raoul Millais, Watercolor, Working Dogs
Located in Pewsey, GB
Wonderful watercolor of working dogs by Raoul Millais. Signed with Monogram HRM
Raoul Millais (1901-1999) : Born in Horsham, Sussex in 1901, Raoul Millais was the grandson of the artist Sir John Everett Millais. His early introduction to art and culture was supplemented by his enrolment at the Byam Shaw School of Art and later the Royal Academy Schools in 1921. During his studies, Millais became interested in the depiction of animals, a field in which he excelled. In 1924 he accompanied his father, the artist John Guille Millais, to Africa where Millais spent time in Sudan completing a series of studies which would later become illustrations in the book ‘Far Away Up the Nile’ (1924). The following year, Millais travelled to Angola where he continued to sketch studies of exotic animals. Upon his return to England in 1925, he settled in Wiltshire where he established himself as an equestrian portraitist. His career as an equine painter proved to be very successful, and in 1936 the artist participated in a one-man exhibition of almost 50 paintings in London. During the Second World War Millais served in the Scots Guards and continued, where possible, to paint and draw. In 1943 the artist was given leave to complete a commission to paint the Royal horses Big Game and Sun Chariot for King George VI. In the years that followed, Millais completed a great number of portraits of winning racehorses, including commissions from Sir Winston Churchill. In 1958 the artist purchased...
Category
1960s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Architectural Study Painting by Richard Bobby, 1966
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
Albert Beausaert "Self portret", Signed and Dated 1965
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Albert Beausaert "Self portret", signed and dated 1965.
Category
1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
High Oil on Canvas Signed Franco.D
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
High oil on canvas signed Franco.D.
Category
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Canvas painting with geometric decoration, 1962
Located in Milano, IT
Canvas painting with geometric decoration in shades of red and yellow, 1962.
measures: h 199x50 cm
Category
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Terra Nostra Modern Painting by Paul Aho, circa 1987 Mid Century Modern Abstract
By Paul Aho
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Lovely painting by Paul Aho (listed artist)
Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Harold McDonald Oil on Canvas, "Shattter" in Blue and White, Dated 1962
Located in Dallas, TX
Midcentury oil on canvas by Harold McDonald. Beautiful blues and whites in an expressive abstract design.
Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Mixed Media Artwork by Umberto Romano
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A mixed-media artwork with a geometric and gridded drawing on the white background with a bold design of abstracted collaged applications in a graphic and contrasting palette.
Category
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Painting by Guy Vandenbranden - Belgium, 1992
Located in Brussels, BE
Painting by Guy Vandenbranden - Belgium, 1992
Category
1990s Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
"Gala's Door" Acrylic on Canvas Painting by Pat Rosenstein
By Pat Rosenstein
Located in Bridgehampton, NY
"Gala's Door" acrylic on canvas painting by Pat Rosenstein.
Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Abstract Painting Signed by Artist
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Abstract painting on white canvas signed and numbered.
(Please confirm item location - NY or NJ - with dealer).
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
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
Moderist Acrylic Painting of Birds
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Midcentury acrylic painting on board with soft soothing palette. Featuring a repeating image in the pop style and executed with brush and air brush techniques. Signed on the back Alvena McCormick...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Pair 1970s Abstract Geometric Art Red Black on Paper Framed St. Simon Island
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Signed and dated to back of frame, name is illegible, 1978.
Category
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paper
Framed Still Life Oil Painting of a Flower Arrangement and Scattered Grapes and
Located in Queens, 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 ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Giltwood
Framed Oil Painting of a Colonial Garden and River
Located in Queens, 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
Framed Oil Still Life Painting of a Wine Bottle with Flowers and Fruit
Located in Queens, NY
Mid-Century oil still life painting depicting a blue wine bottle holding a flowering branch next several fruits on a mottled light blue background on...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Giltwood, Canvas
Framed Oil Painting of Lavender and Pink Flowers in a Vase
Located in Queens, 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
Framed Lithograph of Two Brown and Gray Tropical Fish
Located in Queens, NY
Mid-Century lithograph of two brown and gray tropical fish in profile on a white background in a taupe and light blue double mat and a rectangular silver and green painting (signed, ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paper
Framed Illustration of a Budding Flower Branch
Located in Queens, NY
Mid-Century illustration / watercolor painting of a flowering tree branch with pink flowers and buds on a white background in a light blue and dark green double mat and a rectangular...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paper
Townspeople Working Waterside Vignette Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
French Provincial style (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 wate...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Vintage Victorian Woman at Desk Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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
Portrait of a Woman in a Blue Dress Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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
Heroic Gladiator and Blue Tent Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Neo-classic style (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 ad...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Heroic Gladiator and Blue Tent Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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
Rooster in Nature Print on Wood
Located in Queens, NY
English Victorian style (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...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Wood
Gardeners Among the Ruins Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
English Georgian style (20th Century) genre painting capturing 18th Century figures working in a garden, where two noblemen are also conversing, at the foot of ruins and a stone brid...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Pink Florals and Peaches Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Neo-classic style (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
Black and Red Pileated Woodpecker Painting on Wood
Located in Queens, 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
Seaside House on a Natural Stone Arch Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
Vintage (20th Century) oil painting of a house atop a natural stone archway, through which shepards with a horse, dog and flock, and the sea, are v...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Mid-Century Modern Jos Seeuws Sun Painting, Belgium, 1970s
Located in Brussels, BE
Jos Seeuws (1912-2003) sun painting, Belgium, 1970s.
Category
1970s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paint
Heroic Gladiator and Blue Tent Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Neo-classic style (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 ad...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Townspeople Working Waterside Vignette Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
French Provincial style (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 wate...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Women with Stones Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
English Victorian style (20th Century) unframed canvas oil painting depicting two women wearing shawls and head wraps playing with stones on an interior floor, while a small child watches...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Gathering at the Riverbank Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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
Gardeners Among the Ruins Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, NY
English Georgian style (20th Century) genre painting capturing 18th Century figures working in a garden, where two noblemen are also conversing, at the foot of ruins and a stone brid...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Heroic Gladiator and Blue Tent Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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
Vintage Playing Cards, Stationary and Momentos Still Life Oil Painting
Located in Queens, NY
Vintage (20th century) still life oil painting capturing a composition of playing cards, notebooks, photographs and ticket stubs against a dark background,...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Lithograph of Two Multi-Colored Tropical Fish
Located in Queens, 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 Woman with Child Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Queens, 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.
Minor losses to frame...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Giltwood
Framed Panoramic Landscape and Manor House Painting
Located in Queens, 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
Pink Florals and Peaches Still Life Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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
Cattle Resting in a Field Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Queens, 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 sing...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Framed Color Lithograph of Brown and Multi-Colored Tropical Fish
Located in Queens, NY
Mid-century lithograph of two tropical fish, one small and brown, one larger and multi-colored in a beige mat with gold bevel and a rectangular giltwood frame. (signed, Charles Skora...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paper, Giltwood
Vintage Birds in Flowering Tree Painted Panel
Located in Queens, NY
Vintage (20th century) panel with a ground that mimicks antique parchment and a painting of blue-grey and teracotta-colored undulating trees blooming...
Category
20th Century American 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.