Modern Folk Art
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century North American Modern Folk Art
Clay
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Cotton
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Turkish Modern Folk Art
Wood, Paint
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
Early 2000s Australian Modern Folk Art
Canvas
Early 2000s Italian Modern Folk Art
Canvas
1970s Indian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Paper
Early 2000s Australian Modern Folk Art
Linen, Acrylic, Wood
2010s American Modern Folk Art
Paper
Early 2000s Danish Modern Folk Art
Acrylic
1950s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s American Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Paint
1940s African Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
Early 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Paper
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Foam, Pine
Late 20th Century British Modern Folk Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Hardwood, Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Paint, Ceramic, Stoneware
Late 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Canvas
20th Century English Modern Folk Art
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
Late 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
Early 2000s Indonesian Modern Folk Art
Stone, Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
Early 20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Paint, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Hardwood, Maple, Oak, Walnut
1980s Scandinavian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Folk Art
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Wood
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Folk Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
20th Century Italian Modern Folk Art
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Earthenware, Pottery
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s Swedish Modern Folk Art
Plastic
1960s French Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Lucite
2010s Canadian Modern Folk Art
Wood, Wenge, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
2010s English Modern Folk Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
Mid-20th Century French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Canadian Modern Folk Art
Stone
Mid-20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Modern Folk Art
Wool
1980s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
Mid-20th Century Austrian Modern Folk Art
Brass
2010s Israeli Modern Folk Art
Iron
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Wood





