Modern Decorative 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Polyester, Silk
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Wood, Paper
20th Century Irish Modern Decorative Art
Giltwood
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Latex, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
2010s American Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Murano Glass
1980s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
1970s French Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Slate, Sandstone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Polyester, Silk
2010s Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Faience, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Glass
1980s English Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Glass, Paper, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Gold Leaf
2010s Turkish Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Oak
20th Century Irish Modern Decorative Art
Canvas, Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Acrylic, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Decorative Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Polyester, Silk
20th Century American Modern Decorative Art
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Marble
Early 20th Century German Modern Decorative Art
Paper
1970s German Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Silk, Mirror, Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Wood
1980s North American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Copper, Enamel
2010s Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Faience, Wood
2010s French Modern Decorative Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Marble
Late 20th Century Canadian Modern Decorative Art
Acrylic, Masonite, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Acrylic, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Aluminum, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Polyester, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Decorative Art
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Paint
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Decorative Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Art
Scagliola
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Decorative Art
Paint, Paper
1990s Italian Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic, Paint





