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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Czech Modern Furniture
Glass
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
20th Century Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1960s Turkish Vintage Modern Furniture
Wool, Cotton
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather
2010s American Modern Furniture
Velvet
Late 20th Century American Modern Furniture
Stone
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s British Modern Furniture
Oak
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century North American Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Furniture
Cotton, Velvet
2010s American Modern Furniture
Iron
1950s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Furniture
Silk
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Modern Furniture
Glass
Late 20th Century Croatian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Aluminum
2010s Unknown Modern Furniture
Ash, Bentwood
2010s Indian Modern Furniture
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Brass
2010s American Modern Furniture
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
2010s Chinese Modern Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Modern Furniture
Fur
Early 2000s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Marble
Late 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Acrylic
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Cotton, Linen
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Gold, Gold Leaf
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 2000s Northern Irish Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
Late 20th Century Modern Furniture
Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Pakistani Modern Furniture
Wool
1960s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Brass











