Modern Furniture
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
Late 20th Century British Modern Furniture
Plaster
Late 20th Century Australian Modern Furniture
Hardwood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Chrome
20th Century Modern Furniture
Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Chrome
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Metal, Chrome
1990s American Modern Furniture
Paper
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Art Glass
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Metal, Silver Plate
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Fabric
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Bronze
20th Century Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
Early 20th Century German Modern Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Stone, Bronze, Copper, Pewter
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Modern Furniture
Cowhide
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Silver Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold Plate, Chrome
1970s British Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Furniture
Mahogany
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Iron
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
20th Century Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
1990s Slovenian Modern Furniture
Glass
Mid-20th Century Modern Furniture
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal, Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Canvas
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Upholstery
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Mirror, Maple
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Leather
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wood
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Oak, Pine
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Leather
Late 20th Century Irish Modern Furniture
Canvas
1980s Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass, Wood
1950s Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Plastic, Rubber
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Furniture
Steel, Chrome
20th Century Spanish Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
1980s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Terracotta





