Modern Paintings
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
2010s American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1990s Mexican Modern Paintings
Other
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
Late 20th Century Australian Modern Paintings
Masonite
1940s French Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Paintings
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
Acrylic, Wood, Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Paintings
Canvas
1960s Unknown Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Paintings
Paper
20th Century Modern Paintings
Wood
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Paintings
Wood, Paint
2010s French Modern Paintings
Canvas
1950s American Vintage Modern Paintings
Silver Leaf
1990s American Modern Paintings
Canvas
1970s French Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
1960s French Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
Clay, Organic Material
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Paintings
Silver Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Paintings
Wood, Paint
1960s American Vintage Modern Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Paintings
Silk, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1990s American Modern Paintings
Wood, Paper
2010s Italian Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Cotton
1990s Danish Modern Paintings
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Paintings
Acrylic, Wood
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
2010s North American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Early 2000s American Modern Paintings
Metal
Early 2000s Vietnamese Modern Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Cotton
20th Century Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1910s Austrian Vintage Modern Paintings
Wood
2010s American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Paint
1960s French Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
1990s Italian Modern Paintings
Canvas
Late 20th Century Australian Modern Paintings
Masonite
1960s American Vintage Modern Paintings
Ceramic
20th Century North American Modern Paintings
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Paintings
Cotton, Canvas, Wood
2010s American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1940s Swedish Vintage Modern Paintings
Other
2010s Modern Paintings
Paint, Linen
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Paintings
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
Ribbon, Beads, Paper, Paint, Wood, Resin, Fabric, Porcelain
Early 2000s Danish Modern Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings
Wood, Paper
2010s American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings
Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Paintings
Paper
Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Paintings
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
Clay, Organic Material