Modern Side Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Side Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Walnut
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Silk, Maple
1960s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Oak
Late 20th Century French Modern Side Chairs
Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Textile
2010s German Modern Side Chairs
Steel
20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s South African Modern Side Chairs
Brass, Steel
1950s Polish Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Bentwood, Cane, Braid
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Argentine Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Papercord
1970s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
1940s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Walnut
1980s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Lacquer, Paint, Foam, Maple
1990s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Side Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Side Chairs
Wrought Iron
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Oak
1920s Austrian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Side Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1950s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Australian Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Side Chairs
Brass
2010s Turkish Modern Side Chairs
Teak
Early 2000s American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut, Leather
2010s South African Modern Side Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Side Chairs
Teak
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Papercord, Oak, Mahogany, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
Early 2000s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Oak
1980s British Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Fiberglass
2010s South African Modern Side Chairs
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery
Early 2000s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel











