Modern Benches
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Benches
Metal, Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s Turkish Modern Benches
Leather, Oak
2010s German Modern Benches
Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s French Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Benches
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Benches
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Gold Leaf
2010s Canadian Modern Benches
Acrylic, Oak, Walnut, Fir
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Benches
Velvet, Walnut
2010s American Modern Benches
Metal
2010s Modern Benches
Metal
2010s South Korean Modern Benches
Stone, Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s French Modern Benches
Leather, Ash
2010s Indian Modern Benches
Carbon Fiber
2010s Brazilian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Belgian Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Benches
Stainless Steel
2010s Danish Modern Benches
Natural Fiber, Foam
2010s Chinese Modern Benches
Fiberglass
2010s Brazilian Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Lacquer
2010s American Modern Benches
Other
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Benches
Steel
2010s German Modern Benches
Ash
2010s French Modern Benches
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s American Modern Benches
Steel
2010s French Modern Benches
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Benches
Wood, Oak, Hardwood
2010s Greek Modern Benches
Olive
2010s Italian Modern Benches
Travertine
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Benches
Concrete
2010s Belgian Modern Benches
Stone
2010s Argentine Modern Benches
Aluminum
2010s Dutch Modern Benches
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Benches
Hardwood
2010s Turkish Modern Benches
Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Benches
Wood
2010s Dutch Modern Benches
Aluminum
2010s German Modern Benches
Ash
Early 2000s Belgian Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Marble
2010s Turkish Modern Benches
Iron
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Benches
Concrete
2010s Indian Modern Benches
Metal
2010s North American Modern Benches
Upholstery, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Benches
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Benches
Wood, Cedar
2010s French Modern Benches
PVC, Plaster, Wood