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Modern Shadow Boxes

MODERN STYLE

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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 chaircrafted 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.

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Style: Modern
Roy Lichtenstein "Paper Plate" Original Encased in Heavy Custom Lucite Block
Roy Lichtenstein "Paper Plate" Original Encased in Heavy Custom Lucite Block

Roy Lichtenstein "Paper Plate" Original Encased in Heavy Custom Lucite Block

By Roy Lichtenstein

Located in North Miami, FL

Created exclusively for Barneys of New York by the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, the heavy and custom acrylic display box provides front and rear views of this master work. Stamped wit...

Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Shadow Boxes

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

Contemporary Burmese Dolls in Lucite Display Case
Contemporary Burmese Dolls in Lucite Display Case

Contemporary Burmese Dolls in Lucite Display Case

Located in Franklin Park, IL

Contemporary Burmese Dolls in Lucite Display Case This display case measures: 69 wide x 5 deep x 34.25 inches high Each piece of Fine Art is care...

Category

Early 2000s American Modern Shadow Boxes

Materials

Metal

Haori Jacket by Greg Copeland
Haori Jacket by Greg Copeland

Haori Jacket by Greg Copeland

By Greg Copeland

Located in Sagaponack, NY

A Japanese silk haori float-mounted on an acrylic rod to a stretched pink cloth canvas in a custom formed acrylic shadow box by artist Greg Copeland...

Category

1970s American Vintage Modern Shadow Boxes

Materials

Silk, Acrylic

David Gilhooly (1943-2013) Wall Assemblage
David Gilhooly (1943-2013) Wall Assemblage

David Gilhooly (1943-2013) Wall Assemblage

By David Gilhooly

Located in Palm Springs, CA

David Gilhooly (1943 - 2013) assemblage. Assemblage measure 20" wide, 8" deep and 24" high. Mr. Gilhooly is mostly known for his ceramics and assemblages are extremely rare.Signed on the back as follows: Forget the Blues, and dated 5-97. About the artist. He was an American ceramicist, sculptor, painter, printmaker, and professor. He is best known for pioneering the Funk art movement. He made a series of ceramic frogs called FrogWorld, as well as ceramic food, planets, and other creatures. Gilhooly, together with Robert Arneson, Peter Vandenberge, Chris Unterseher, and Margaret Dodd, working together in TB-9 (temporary building 9) were what was later to be called, The Funk Ceramic...

Category

1990s American Modern Shadow Boxes

Materials

Plastic, Lucite

Robert Matheny Glitter Painting
Robert Matheny Glitter Painting

Robert Matheny Glitter Painting

Located in Chicago, IL

Robert E. Matheny Glitter on canvass. Early work 1969, original Lucite shadow box frame. Visual artist starting in circa 1960, two years after graduating from Long Beach state College with an art education Masters Degree, Contemporary of John Baldessari, San Diego Art...

Category

1960s American Vintage Modern Shadow Boxes

Materials

Canvas

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By Ron Fritts

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19th Century Chinese Silk Embroidered Ceremonial Jacket in Display Picture Frame
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Located in West Sussex, Pulborough

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Painting by Robert Geenens, Belgium
Painting by Robert Geenens, Belgium

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H 20.87 in W 24.41 in D 0.79 in

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By Robert Geenens

Located in Antwerp, BE

Painting by Robert Hector Geenens. Started with fantastic realism, often surrealism, open to dreams and imagination. Tended afterwards towards lyric abstraction and magic abstracti...

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Antique 18th Century French Neoclassical Hera's Chariot Hand Fan Shadowbox
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H 15.5 in W 21.75 in D 1.75 in

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Antique Sea Life Diorama Shadow Box, Walnut Frame, Shells, 1950
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Located in Douglas Manor, NY

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Suiren by Blue Tip Atelier
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H 12.25 in W 14.5 in D 1.5 in

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Located in Brooklyn, NY

Paint on found wooden frame by New York City picking and art legend, Robert Loughlin. Featured in Patrick Parrish Gallery's “Robert Loughlin: 1998-2011” exhibition in 2021. ROBERT LOUGHLIN (1949 - 2011) may have been one of the most elusive artists in New York, but his work was everywhere. You might have noticed his signature graffiti of a square-jawed man, The Brute, randomly appearing on doors, signs, and walls all over the city. Like his fellow graffiti artists who emerged during the 1980s, such as Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenning Scharf, Loughlin has now become a collectible name. Once considered outsiders to the mainstream art world, graffiti artists now command top dollar for their work and are shown in museums all over the world. When he wasn't making his mark on the city streets, Robert Loughlin still incorporated a similar grittiness into his art. He would ransack antique stores, thrift shops, flea markets, galleries, and estate sales and emerge with treasures that he would use as his canvas. Nothing was sacred...

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Previously Available Items
David Gilhooly (1943-2013) Wall Assemblage
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H 34.25 in W 30.5 in D 9 in

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Located in Palm Springs, CA

David Gilhooly (1943 - 2013) assemblage. Assemblage measure 30.5" wide, 9" deep and 34.25" high. This is probably one of the largest assemblages that David made. Signed on the bac...

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Roy Lichtenstein "Paper Plate" Original Encased in Heavy Custom Lucite Block
Roy Lichtenstein "Paper Plate" Original Encased in Heavy Custom Lucite Block

Roy Lichtenstein "Paper Plate" Original Encased in Heavy Custom Lucite Block

By Roy Lichtenstein

Located in North Miami, FL

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Late 20th Century American Modern Shadow Boxes

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Single Bathroom Series by artist Darryl Norem (1986)
Single Bathroom Series by artist Darryl Norem (1986)

Single Bathroom Series by artist Darryl Norem (1986)

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Signed cut paper painting of a bathroom scene by artist Darryl Norem (1949-2011). Beautifully framed in a thick shadow box. Clever Subject and exec...

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Becky Davis Botanicals Nutgrass Cyperus Esculentus Floral Wheat 61"
Becky Davis Botanicals Nutgrass Cyperus Esculentus Floral Wheat 61"

Becky Davis Botanicals Nutgrass Cyperus Esculentus Floral Wheat 61"

Located in Dayton, OH

"From flowers and grasses to ferns and leaves, each stem is hand picked by Becky, who wades into alligator infested waters in South Carolina's lowcountry to find the perfect specimen...

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2 Becky Davis Botanicals Fragrant Water Lily Leaf Nymphaea Odorata Floral
2 Becky Davis Botanicals Fragrant Water Lily Leaf Nymphaea Odorata Floral

2 Becky Davis Botanicals Fragrant Water Lily Leaf Nymphaea Odorata Floral

Located in Dayton, OH

From flowers and grasses to ferns and leaves, each stem is hand picked by Becky, who wades into alligator infested waters in South Carolina's lowcountry to find the perfect specimen ...

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Abstract String Wall Art In Square Lucite Shadow Box
Abstract String Wall Art In Square Lucite Shadow Box

Abstract String Wall Art In Square Lucite Shadow Box

Located in Haddonfield, NJ

Square abstract wall art in square Lucite shadow box. The strings are artfully strung around brass nails on a light gray linen background.    

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1960s Sculptural Collage by William Sildar
1960s Sculptural Collage by William Sildar

1960s Sculptural Collage by William Sildar

Located in Sagaponack, NY

A blackened sculptural relief collage by William Sildar with dark pink matte backdrop and white painted wood frame.

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Painting by Cuban American artist Jose-Maria Mijares
Painting by Cuban American artist Jose-Maria Mijares

Painting by Cuban American artist Jose-Maria Mijares

By José María Mijares

Located in North Miami, FL

Beautiful painting by Cuban American artist Jose Maria Mijares (Havana 1921- Miami 2004). Mijares had a long career which began in Cuba where be had...

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Op Art Butterfly Box
Op Art Butterfly Box

Op Art Butterfly Box

Sold

H 18.25 in W 18.25 in D 2 in

Op Art Butterfly Box

Located in Chireno, TX

Op art butterfly box: vintage (circa 1960-1979) Op Art handcut into butterfly shapes and pinned within a shadow box as specimen. Framed in unfinished maple. Two more similar pieces a...

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2010s American Modern Shadow Boxes

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Op Art Butterfly Box
Op Art Butterfly Box

Op Art Butterfly Box

Sold

H 18.25 in W 18.25 in D 2 in

Op Art Butterfly Box

Located in Chireno, TX

Op art butterfly box: vintage (circa 1960-1979) Op art handcut into butterfly shapes and pinned within a shadow box as specimen. Framed in unfinished map...

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2010s American Modern Shadow Boxes

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Op Art Butterfly Box
Op Art Butterfly Box

Op Art Butterfly Box

Sold

H 18.25 in W 18.25 in D 2 in

Op Art Butterfly Box

Located in Chireno, TX

Op art butterfly box: vintage (circa 1960-1979) Op art handcut into butterfly shapes and pinned within a shadow box as specimen. Framed in unfinished map...

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Modern shadow boxes for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Modern shadow boxes 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 shadow boxes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, asian art and furniture and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with plastic, acrylic and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern shadow boxes 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 shadow boxes, popular names associated with this style include Dorothee Maurer-Becker, Greg Copeland, M Design, and Roy Lichtenstein. 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 shadow boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $599 and tops out at $5,850 while the average work can sell for $2,150.