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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Furniture
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold, Nickel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Plastic
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Wrought Iron
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Gold
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
2010s Danish Modern Furniture
Sheepskin, Walnut
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Cane, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Art Glass, Cut Glass, Walnut
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Furniture
Chrome, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Furniture
Mohair, Wool
20th Century German Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
20th Century American Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain
2010s Afghan Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Rattan, Rush, Mahogany
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Steel
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Mirror
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Steel, Iron
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Leather, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Furniture
Metal, Bronze
2010s Argentine Modern Furniture
Metal
2010s Nepalese Modern Furniture
Wool, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Paper
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Glass, Mirror
2010s American Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Modern Furniture
Alabaster, Nickel







