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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Folk Art
Wood
1980s Cameroonian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Wood
1860s French Antique Modern Folk Art
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Metal, Tin
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
20th Century French Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1970s Belgian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Belgian Black Marble
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Stoneware
1950s Vintage Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
1960s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Folk Art
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
Early 2000s American Modern Folk Art
Ceramic, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
1950s German Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
1980s English Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wicker
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Folk Art
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Walnut, Plexiglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
Early 20th Century Cameroonian Modern Folk Art
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Folk Art
Silk
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather
20th Century American Modern Folk Art
Paper
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Folk Art
Canvas
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Leather, Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
1920s Czech Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Folk Art
Brass
Mid-20th Century Turkish Modern Folk Art
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Folk Art
Wool
20th Century Chinese Modern Folk Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Slovak Modern Folk Art
Walnut
1960s Hungarian Vintage Modern Folk Art
Canvas, Paint
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Folk Art
Wool
1960s American Vintage Modern Folk Art
Terracotta
1980s Slovak Vintage Modern Folk Art
Metal
1990s French Modern Folk Art
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Folk Art
Paint, Paper
Early 20th Century Thai Modern Folk Art
Wood
2010s American Modern Folk Art
Foil





