Mid-Century Modern Easels

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 celebrated 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.

Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. 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

Vintage Chrome and Brass Easel

$1,650

Vintage Chrome and Brass Easel

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

This elegant vintage chrome and brass easel exemplifies the refined modernist design sensibility of the mid-20th century. Defined by clean lines and a balanced geometric form, the pi...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal, Brass, Chrome

Mid-Century Modern Italian Brass Coat Stand with Round Base, Italy, 1970s

$1,750

Mid-Century Modern Italian Brass Coat Stand with Round Base, Italy, 1970s

Located in Miami, FL

Mid-Century Modern Italian brass coat stand with round base, Italy, 1970s This heavy coat rack has four high hangers and other four hangers i...

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Brass

Anco Bilt Wood Easels, Mid to Late 20th Century

$1,800Sale Price|20% Off

Anco Bilt Wood Easels, Mid to Late 20th Century

By Anco Bilt

Located in Chicago, IL

Pair of vintage Anco Built wood easels. These have been in use for decades. They have just the right amount of patina to be cool. Used, not abused. Still quite functional.

Category

1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal

Modernist Polished Aluminum Easel - circa 1970's

$1,250

Modernist Polished Aluminum Easel - circa 1970's

Located in Atlanta, GA

Modernist Polished Aluminum Easel, American, circa 1970's. The aluminum frame has been hand polished to a brilliant sheen, almost like chrome. Sturdy and stable design.

Category

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Aluminum

Stunning Chrome Easel by Elaine Cohen for Design Institute of America, 1970's

$1,760Sale Price|20% Off

Stunning Chrome Easel by Elaine Cohen for Design Institute of America, 1970's

By Elaine Cohen, Design Institute America

Located in Culver City, CA

Minimal. Architectural. Chic for days. This sculptural solid chrome easel, designed by Elaine Cohen for Design Institute of America in the 1970s, is the kind of piece that makes you...

Category

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Chrome

Vintage Anco Bilt Freestanding Easel

$2,200 / item

Vintage Anco Bilt Freestanding Easel

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This classically-styled easel is designed to enhance the most rigorous of artists work! Featuring a solid wood construction and the square base ensures the ultimate in stability, while lockable casters allow for easy movement. A ratchet system easily raises and lowers the bottom canvas support and supply tray, and the easel adjusts...

Category

19th Century American Antique Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Oak

Large 1960s chrome and brass store display easel

$1,800

Large 1960s chrome and brass store display easel

Located in Ferndale, MI

Mid century store display most likely from a higher end department store in the 1960s . About 23" wide 62" tall fully open 35" deep . Constructed of mostly 1" square stock steel wel...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Brass, Chrome

Fully Adjustable French Table Top Easel This is a very versatile piece

$991

Fully Adjustable French Table Top Easel This is a very versatile piece

Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight

Fully Adjustable French Table Top Easel This is a very versatile piece it is fully adjustable with height and angle adjustments and it is small enough to sit on a good size table or...

Category

1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Beech

Italian Florentine Gold Gilt Wood Table Easel Mid-Century Modern

$155

Italian Florentine Gold Gilt Wood Table Easel Mid-Century Modern

Located in Haddonfield, NJ

Vintage Florentine Carved Gold Folding Art Tabletop Easel. Charming and unique wooden easel from Italy. This gilt piece would make a wonderful display on a side table for your favori...

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood, Paint

Modernist Polished Aluminum Easel - circa 1970's

$1,250

Modernist Polished Aluminum Easel - circa 1970's

Located in Atlanta, GA

Modernist Polished Aluminum Easel, American, circa 1970's. The aluminum frame has been hand polished to a brilliant sheen, almost like chrome. Sturdy and stable design.

Category

1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Aluminum

1960s Pine Tree Planter Holder Stand , Denmark

$458

1960s Pine Tree Planter Holder Stand , Denmark

Located in Praha, CZ

- Carefully refurbished - Minor signs of use - inside of the pop- 12 x 85 x 16

Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood, Pine

Valet clothes rack By ico Parisi

$3,330

Valet clothes rack By ico Parisi

By Ico Parisi

Located in New York, NY

An elegant Italian clothing valet by Ico Parisi for Fratelli Requitti. Brass and beech wood. can be disassembled in two parts. Good conditions.

Category

1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood, Beech

Mid Century Modern Vintage Pastel Green Metal Flower Stand Flower Rack 1950s

$4,941

Mid Century Modern Vintage Pastel Green Metal Flower Stand Flower Rack 1950s

Located in Vienna, AT

Mid-Century Modern Organic vintage flower stand from metal in soft pastel green color with 6 cups, 1950s Austria. A stunning flower stand with 6 cups in great organic shape for prese...

Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal

1960s Pine Tree Planter Holder Stand, Denmark

$458

1960s Pine Tree Planter Holder Stand, Denmark

Located in Praha, CZ

- Carefully refurbished - Minor signs of use - inside 15 x 68 x 14 cm

Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood, Pine

1960s Small Flower Umakart Table, Czechoslovakia

$141

1960s Small Flower Umakart Table, Czechoslovakia

Located in Praha, CZ

- Good original condition with minor signs of use.

Category

1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood

1950s Wooden Flower Stand, Czechoslovakia

$447

1950s Wooden Flower Stand, Czechoslovakia

Located in Praha, CZ

- Stained beech wood - carefully refurbished

Category

1950s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood, Beech

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brass Green Glass Flower Stand Side Table 1950s

$8,000

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brass Green Glass Flower Stand Side Table 1950s

Located in Vienna, AT

Mid-Century Modern vintage flower stand from brass and squared green glass plates 1950s Austria. An amazing and elegant flower stand from brass and three squared plates covered with ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Brass

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brown Easel, Austria, 1950s Wood

$3,765

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brown Easel, Austria, 1950s Wood

Located in Vienna, AT

Mid Century Modern vintage brown easel from wood, Austria, 1950s. A wonderful easel from brwon stained spruce with an adjustable pad board from up to down and for holding a painting...

Category

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Spruce

Mid Century Modern Tension Pole Easel Handcrafted Wood Brass Arredoluce Era 8 ft

$4,500

Mid Century Modern Tension Pole Easel Handcrafted Wood Brass Arredoluce Era 8 ft

By Arredoluce

Located in Peoria, AZ

Mid Century Modern Tension Pole Easel Art Gallery/Collector Display Fits 8 foot ceilings Rare Here is a magnificent tension pole easel! At the peak of the mid century movement gall...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Brass

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wolsey Masonite Table Top Easel

$695

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Wolsey Masonite Table Top Easel

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

This vintage folding bookstand or easel, with its triangular cutout design and warm brown patina, blends functional simplicity with mid-century charm. Made from a fiberboard-like mat...

Category

Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal

Lucite Standing Easel

$800

Lucite Standing Easel

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Mid-Century Modern style acrylic easel. Great for home office art display. Please confirm location.

Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Lucite

Midcentury Swan Magazine Rack attributed to Maison Jansen

$1,147

Midcentury Swan Magazine Rack attributed to Maison Jansen

By Maison Jansen

Located in Lisse, NL

Wonderfully sculptural brass magazine stand attributed to Maison Jansen. This practical size and highly decorative swan magazine rack is exactly what you would expect from the mid-c...

Category

Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Brass

Mid-Century Italian Tall Bronzed Table Display Stand Signage

$225

Mid-Century Italian Tall Bronzed Table Display Stand Signage

Located in Haddonfield, NJ

Fabulous MCM sturdy tabletop sign stand with double-sided frame. The bronzed stand is a great marketing tool for retail locations as well as restaurants.

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal, Bronze

Mid-20th Century French Wooden Artist Easel with Light

$1,388

Mid-20th Century French Wooden Artist Easel with Light

Located in CHAMBLY, FR

A charming and highly functional vintage artist’s studio easel featuring an integrated reading/atelier lamp, originating from France, mid-20th century. Crafted from warm, rich-toned ...

Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood

Vintage Flower stand, 1960's.

$423

Vintage Flower stand, 1960's.

Located in Praha, CZ

The stand is made of metal The inner diameter of the circle is 19.5 cm Made in Czechoslovakia Good original condition

Category

1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal

Mid-Century American Glass Picture Frame, Floral Etching, 1940s

$675

Mid-Century American Glass Picture Frame, Floral Etching, 1940s

Located in Queens, NY

American Mid-Century (1940s) rectangular glass easel picture frame with etched floral design and small brass trimmed corners.

Category

Early 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Glass

Mid-Century American Wrought Iron Tripod Easel, Circa 1955

$3,200

Mid-Century American Wrought Iron Tripod Easel, Circa 1955

Located in Queens, NY

Mid-Century American black wrought iron minimalist easel with rounded corners supported on three triangular legs. Wear to finish.

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Iron

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brown Spruce Wood Easel 1950s Austria

$6,377

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brown Spruce Wood Easel 1950s Austria

Located in Vienna, AT

Mid-Century Modern vintage easel from spruce with stunning color rests Austria 1950s. A beautiful vintage easel from spruce in brown color tone with wooden screws. These screws helps...

Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Spruce

Mid-Century American Glass Easel Frame with Etched Floral Design

$675

Mid-Century American Glass Easel Frame with Etched Floral Design

Located in Queens, NY

American Mid-Century (1940s) glass easel picture frame with arch top and etched floral design in corners.

Category

Early 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Glass

Mid-century Flower Stand, 1980's.

$423

Mid-century Flower Stand, 1980's.

Located in Praha, CZ

Made in Czechoslovakia Made of Metal,Rattan With aged patina Good Original condition

Category

1980s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal

Pair of Rail Road Sections Bookends

$350 / set

Pair of Rail Road Sections Bookends

By Ward Bennett

Located in Rockaway, NJ

Nice heavy pair of railroad sections I-beam style bookends.

Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Easel Mid Century Modern Vintage Brown Spruce Brass 1950s Austria Color Rests

$6,294

Easel Mid Century Modern Vintage Brown Spruce Brass 1950s Austria Color Rests

Located in Vienna, AT

Mid Century Modern vintage easel from spruce and metal, Austria 1950s. Beautiful easel with adjustable height from 184 cm to 270 cm from spruce, metal ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Brass

Mid-Century Tubular Stand Flowers, 1960's

$811

Mid-Century Tubular Stand Flowers, 1960's

Located in Praha, CZ

Made in Czechoslovakia Made of Lacquered metal, wood New Lacquer Good Original condition.

Category

1960s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Metal

Small Mid Century Flower Table / Standt, 1960s

$223

Small Mid Century Flower Table / Standt, 1960s

Located in Praha, CZ

- Germany - Good original condition. - around 1960s.

Category

1960s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood

1970s Beech Flower Pot Stand , Czechoslovakia

$329

1970s Beech Flower Pot Stand , Czechoslovakia

Located in Praha, CZ

- good original condition with some signs of use - sturdy and stable

Category

Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood, Beech

American Mid-Century Bronze Picture Frame

$1,250

American Mid-Century Bronze Picture Frame

Located in Queens, NY

American Mid-Century (1940s) bronze rectangular ease picture frame with top and base molding and rectangular solid base.

Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Bronze

Midcentury Flower Stand, Czechoslovakia, 1960s

$329

Midcentury Flower Stand, Czechoslovakia, 1960s

Located in Praha, CZ

Made from wood Wood is refubrished.

Category

1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Easels

Materials

Wood

Mid-century Modern easels for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern easels for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Late 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage easels created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include more furniture and collectibles, tables, lighting and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern easels made in a specific country, there are Europe, Czech Republic, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original easels, popular names associated with this style include Angelo Lelii, Arredondo, Sergio Bustamante, and Maison Jansen. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for easels differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $132 and tops out at $9,850 while the average work can sell for $1,208.