Modern furniture: the beginning

The chronicle of modern furniture start in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, when furniture could be mass-produced in factories by machines instead of made by hand, piece by piece. Although for a long time a clear split between technology and art remained—new materials and inventions challenged the engineer, while designers were generally content to draw inspiration from past styles—the potential of technology was seen by a few forward-thinking designers.

Most important was the Austrian Michael Thonet, who produced what is considered to be the first modern furniture in the middle of the nineteenth century. After much experimenting, Thonet perfected a steam process for bending hardwood by machine, a process still used today. His furniture was first shown internationally at the London Exhibition of 1851, where it was appreciated immediately. Inexpensive and well-designed, bentwood chairs and other pieces became widely popular in Europe both for home and public use.

Thonet's company produced much of the world's classic modern furniture. In addition to Thonet's own designs, the company manufactured some of the work of Josef Hoffmann and Otto Wagner, and later that of Mart Stam, Le Corbusier, and Bauhaus faculty members. It was the first company to make "knock-down" furniture and it shipped some chairs unassembled to both sides of the Atlantic. Thonet Industries still mass-produces modern classics by many designers.

Another early designer was Joseph Beverly Fenby, who’s Tripolina Chair, created in 1877 of canvas and wood, was a simple and inexpensive provision of portable seating. The Colonial Chair (designer unknown) was another such innovation, also made of canvas and wood, but with a revolutionary structure, first used by British officers in India. Both chairs are still popular today. The Colonial Chair was updated by Denmark's Kaare Klint in 1933 and renamed the Safari Chair.

The Shakers in the United States were precursors of the modern movement. It was their idea, many decades before the Bauhaus, that form must follow function—one of the most important principles of modern design. Their modern furniture first became popular around 1860 and is popular again today.