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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Steel
1990s French Modern Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Silk
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
Early 20th Century French Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Furniture
Aluminum
1980s French Vintage Modern Furniture
Acrylic, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Agate, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Scagliola, Wood
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Furniture
Linen
1970s German Vintage Modern Furniture
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Silk
1990s Italian Modern Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Furniture
Canvas, Paint
20th Century French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Furniture
Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Furniture
Paper
2010s Dutch Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Bronze
2010s Danish Modern Furniture
Fabric
Early 2000s European Modern Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Onyx, Travertine, Granite, Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Natural Fiber, Synthetic, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Travertine, Carrara Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Carrara Marble, Marble, Travertine, Onyx, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Fabric, Velvet, Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Onyx, Granite, Carrara Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Modern Furniture
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Carrara Marble, Brass, Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Furniture
Marble, Onyx, Granite
1970s American Vintage Modern Furniture
Chrome
2010s North American Modern Furniture
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Furniture
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Furniture
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Furniture
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century French Modern Furniture
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Furniture
Leather, Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Furniture
Glass