Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Sergio Bustamante Brass Swan Sculpture

By Sergio Bustamante

Located in Mckinney, TX

Enhance your space with the enchanting Sergio Bustamante Mid-Century Brass Swan Sculpture. Crafted by the esteemed Mexican artist, this piece embo...

Category

Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Brass, Copper

Sergio Bustamante Brass Swan Sculpture

billard pokerballs aramith belgium 1950s

Located in Wien, AT

billard pokerballs aramith belgium 1950s Original condition

Category

1950s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Polyester

billard pokerballs aramith belgium 1950s

Vintage Rya Carpet, Swedish Rug, Colorful

Located in Port Washington, NY

1960s Swedish Rya rug with a colorful, plush wool pile. Size: 4'6" X 6'7".

Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Wool

Vintage Rya Carpet, Swedish Rug, Colorful

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Lisa Larson 'Mikey' Cat Fabric Cushions

Located in Little Burstead, Essex

Cushions with zip on covers, fronts in 'Mikey' fabric designed by Lisa Larson, in typical Lisa Larson style, very reminiscent of her comical animal figures...

Category

Early 2000s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Cotton

Lisa Larson 'Mikey' Cat Fabric Cushions

Beatrice Wood Signed Midcentury California Studio Pottery Luster Glaze Vase

By Beatrice Wood

Located in Studio City, CA

A wonderful gem of a piece by famed American/California ceramicist Beatrice Wood featuring her highly coveted, gorgeously radiant turquoise luster glaze. A beautiful design with a delicate long neck rising from a circular base. Classic and timeless. Signed by Beatrice in her customary "Beato" on the underside of the base (with noted inventory number). Would be an amazing addition to any Mid-Century Modern pottery collection or personal collectors of her work or a fabulous stand-alone accent piece in about any setting. One of the best Beatrice Wood's luster glaze vases we have come across in quite a while. Know famously in the art world as "The Mama of Dada", Wood lived a long (1893-1998) and very fruitful, creative life and is considered by many experts and collectors alike to have been a centerpiece in the modern ceramic art movement of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. At one point in her career, Wood studied with master potters Otto and Gertrud Natzler and later become famed in her own right for her distinct luster-glazing techniques. In 1994, the Smithsonian Institution named Wood an "Esteemed American Artist". Her other awards include: 1994 Governor’s Awards for the Arts (California) 1993 Recognition as A Role Model by Women in Film 1992 Gold Medal for Highest Achievement in Craftsmanship, American Craft Council 1988 Distinguished Service Award, Arizona State University 1987 Fellow of American Craft Council Women’s Art Caucus, National Award (NCECA Award) 1986 Women’s Building Award 1984 Living Treasure of California 1983 Symposium Award of the Institute for Ceramic History 1961 Goodwill Ambassador from USA...

Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Earthenware

Beatrice Wood Signed Midcentury California Studio Pottery Luster Glaze Vase

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging relatively large sumptuously glazed bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The high-fired porcelain bowl features a v...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

Ruelland: Signed coral orange-red glazed ceramic soliflore vase - Circa 1960

By Jacques and Dani Ruelland

Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR

Jacques and Dani Ruelland: Orange-coral red soliflore vase Height = 12.5 cm Diameter = 8.5 cm Restoration of chips at the neck/body junction Very good condition Circa 1960 Sign...

Category

1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Ceramic

Ruelland: Signed coral orange-red glazed ceramic soliflore vase - Circa 1960

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Vintage Industrial Wooden Hand Painted 'Freak Show' Fairground sign, c.1960

Located in London, GB

A large hand painted fairground 'Freak Show' sign. Decorative and eye-catching arrowed design backboard, with hand painted lettering.

Category

Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Plywood

Vintage Industrial Wooden Hand Painted 'Freak Show' Fairground sign, c.1960

Vintage Japanese Daimaru Thong Sandal New from the Original Box, Mid-Century

Located in Norton, MA

They feel like leather, new from the original box. They are 9" long, 3" wide, and 7" to the thong head. Very high quality.

Category

1960s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Pottery, Stoneware

Vintage Japanese Daimaru Thong Sandal New from the Original Box, Mid-Century

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a vast array of shifting, vibrant, and colo...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl

Beatrice Wood Signed Mid-Century California Pottery Luster Crater Glaze Vase

By Beatrice Wood

Located in Studio City, CA

A wonderfully designed work by famed American California Studio master ceramist Beatrice Wood featuring a gorgeous, sumptuous, iridescent luster (lustre) volcanic lava crater glaze (...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Earthenware, Pottery

Beatrice Wood Signed Mid-Century California Pottery Luster Crater Glaze Vase

Large Vintage Turned Christmas Tree, English, Decorative Festive Centrepiece

Located in Hele, Devon, GB

This is a large vintage turned Christmas tree. An English, mahogany decorative festive centrepiece, dating to the mid 20th century, circa 1960. A treat of tactile turning with fine...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Materials

Wood

Large Vintage Turned Christmas Tree, English, Decorative Festive Centrepiece

Whispering Windscape Antique White & Dark Ivory 168x240 cm Handknotted Rug

Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Sergio Bustamante Brass Swan Sculpture

1950s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

billard pokerballs aramith belgium 1950s

Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Vintage Rya Carpet, Swedish Rug, Colorful

Early 2000s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Lisa Larson 'Mikey' Cat Fabric Cushions

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Beatrice Wood Signed Midcentury California Studio Pottery Luster Glaze Vase

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Ruelland: Signed coral orange-red glazed ceramic soliflore vase - Circa 1960

Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Vintage Industrial Wooden Hand Painted 'Freak Show' Fairground sign, c.1960

1960s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Vintage Japanese Daimaru Thong Sandal New from the Original Box, Mid-Century

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Beatrice Wood Signed Mid-Century California Pottery Luster Crater Glaze Vase

Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Large Vintage Turned Christmas Tree, English, Decorative Festive Centrepiece

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Whispering Windscape Antique White & Dark Ivory 168x240 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Crimson Vine Vintage Red & Vintage Red 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Dimensional Depths Colorado Clay & Granite Green 170x240 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

UrbanVintage Indigo Blue & Blue Mirage 180x270cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Bahaar Wasabi & Gray Brown 150x240 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Bahaar Peach dust & Amethyst 150x240 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Maximalist Interplay Teal Play 195x295 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Duskfall Tapestry Dark Ivory & Spice Brown 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Starry Skyfall Indigo Blue & CastleRock 240x300 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Smoke Blush Ashwood & Light Peach 240x300 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Ethereal Lagoon White & White 240x300 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Pearly Shores Ivory & Beige 240x300 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Sipahi Bristol Blue & Golden Glow 120X270 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Sipahi Light Mahogany & Dark Purple 120X270 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Statement Simplicity White & White 270x360 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Earthy Enigma Natural Soot & Natural Taupe 180x270 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Muted Contours Clay & Soft Beige 240x300 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Frosty Illusion White & Medium Blue 270x375 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Ashy Enigma Ashwood & Capri 198x249 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Enchanted Rustic Reverie Antique White & Dark Ivory 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Maryul Soft Gold & Tawny Brown 180x270 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Serene Sonata Sea Mist Green & Dark Ivory 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Silvered Serenade Classic Gray & Caviar 240x300 cm Hand Knotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Arjumand Aruba Blue & Jasper 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Arjumand Charcoal Slate & Shadow Gray 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Lirio Pebble & Mood Indigo 240x300 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art

Sakya Canterbury & Canterbury 180x270 cm Handknotted Rug

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Mid-Century Modern Folk Art