Modern Chairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s American Modern Chairs
Fabric
1990s Austrian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century French Modern Chairs
Straw, Pine
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1990s Swedish Modern Chairs
Polyester
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
2010s South Korean Modern Chairs
Stone, Steel
1970s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
1960s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Straw, Oak
2010s American Modern Chairs
Velvet
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Other
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Other
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Velvet, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Wood
1980s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Foam, Rubber
2010s German Modern Chairs
Leather, Ash
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood, Fabric
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s South Korean Modern Chairs
Stone, Steel
2010s South Korean Modern Chairs
Stone, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Fabric
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chairs
Oak
2010s French Modern Chairs
Metal, Other
2010s American Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery
1990s Austrian Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chairs
Steel, Metal
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Chairs
Foam, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Beech
1950s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood, Beech, Oak
2010s French Modern Chairs
Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Plastic
2010s German Modern Chairs
Suede, Ash
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Argentine Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Textile, Upholstery, Laminate, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Wood, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Textile, Oak
2010s American Modern Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Plastic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chairs
Animal Skin