Modern Garden Ornaments
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Garden Ornaments
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Steel
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Pottery
1950s French Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Garden Ornaments
Resin
2010s American Modern Garden Ornaments
Bronze
2010s Egyptian Modern Garden Ornaments
Natural Fiber
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Garden Ornaments
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Garden Ornaments
Cement
2010s American Modern Garden Ornaments
Steel
1950s French Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete
1970s American Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
2010s Danish Modern Garden Ornaments
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Garden Ornaments
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Garden Ornaments
Steel
20th Century French Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete
Early 2000s Modern Garden Ornaments
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Garden Ornaments
Polystyrene
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Garden Ornaments
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Garden Ornaments
Aluminum
1970s French Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete
2010s German Modern Garden Ornaments
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Ceramic
20th Century North American Modern Garden Ornaments
Marble
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete
2010s South African Modern Garden Ornaments
Steel
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
2010s North American Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Ceramic
1990s Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
20th Century Modern Garden Ornaments
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Marble
20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Garden Ornaments
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Garden Ornaments
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Garden Ornaments
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Garden Ornaments
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Garden Ornaments
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Garden Ornaments
Stoneware
Early 20th Century French Modern Garden Ornaments
2010s Italian Modern Garden Ornaments
Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Iron
Early 20th Century American Modern Garden Ornaments
Brass