Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Walnut
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Walnut
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Beech
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Oak
Early 1800s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Early 1800s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Oak
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Walnut
Early 1900s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Oak
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
20th Century Indonesian Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Fabric, Mahogany
1950s Danish Vintage Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Mahogany
1940s French Vintage Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Wood
Late 18th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
1930s Danish Vintage Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century Danish Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s Italian Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Textile
1960s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
20th Century English Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Beech
1970s American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Cane, Oak
18th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Wood
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Oak
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Oak