Vladimir With Wings
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights an...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Organic Modern Coffee and Cockt...
Glass, Wood
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Carts and Bar Carts
Marble
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Oak, Leather, Walnut
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Cane, Wood, Hardwood, Textile
2010s British Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Bouclé, Walnut
2010s British Minimalist Lounge Chairs
Ash, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Tables
Hardwood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Chaise Longues
Fabric, Walnut
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Chaise Longues
Bouclé, Upholstery
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s American Desks
21st Century and Contemporary American Post-Modern Sofas
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Walnut, Leather
Vladimir Kagan for sale on 1stDibs
The pioneers of modern furniture design in America in the mid-20th century all had their moments of flamboyance: Charles and Ray Eames produced the startling, biomorphic La Chaise; George Nelson’s firm created the Marshmallow sofa; Edward Wormley had his decadent Listen to Me chaise. But no designer of the day steadily offered works with more verve and dynamism than Vladimir Kagan. While others, it seems, designed with suburban households in mind, Kagan aimed to suit the tastes of young, sophisticated city-dwellers. With signature designs that feature sleekly curved frames and others that have dramatic out-thrust legs, Kagan made furniture sexy.
Kagan’s father was a Russian master cabinetmaker who took his family first to Germany (where Vladimir was born) and then to New York in 1938. After studying architecture at Columbia University, Kagan opened a design firm at age 22 and immediately made a splash with his long, low and sinuous Serpentine sofa. Furniture lines such as the Tri-symmetric group of glass-topped, three-legged tables and the vivacious Contours chairs soon followed.
Kagan’s choices of form and materials evolved through subsequent decades, embracing lucite, aluminum and burl-wood veneers. By the late 1960s, Kagan was designing austere, asymmetrical cabinets and his Omnibus group of modular sofas and chairs. For all his aesthetic élan, Kagan said that throughout his career, his touchstone was comfort. “A lot of modern furniture was not comfortable. And so comfort is: form follows function. The function was to make it comfortable,” he once commented. “I created what I called vessels for the human body.”
A diverse group of bodies have made themselves at home with Kagan designs. Among the famous names who commissioned and collected his designs are Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Andy Warhol, David Lynch, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and firms such as Gucci and Giorgio Armani. His work is in numerous museum collections, including those of the Victoria & Albert and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Because of its idiosyncrasy, Kagan’s work did not lend itself to mass-production. Kagan never signed on with any of the major furniture-making corporations, and examples of his designs are relatively rare. As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, even decades after their conception, Kagan pieces still command the eye, with their freshness, energy, sensuality and wit.