Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American 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.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic, Textile, Plywood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass, Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Wrought Iron
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic, Rope
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal, Copper
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Textile, Wool
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass, Iron
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Concrete
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic
1950s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Glass, Wood
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal, Aluminum, Bronze, Copper, Stainless Steel, Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Chrome
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
1960s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Copper
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Paper
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Marble
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal, Brass
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Sheet Metal
2010s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Steel
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Stone
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Cement
Mid-20th Century Canadian Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Bronze, Pewter
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal, Brass, Enamel
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass
1980s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass, Iron
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal, Brass
2010s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1980s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Resin, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic, Pottery, Stoneware
1970s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Concrete
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Foam
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Brass, Copper, Steel
1990s Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century Ghanaian Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
Metal