When Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman met and married in Detroit in 1948, they began a seven-decade love affair and creative partnership that would have a major impact on the aesthetic of California mid-century modernism.
At the time, Jerome was a charismatic World War II veteran, Evelyn a young assistant at Luce Lipton Interior Design Studio, where he first spied her folding fabric samples and presented her with a Milky Way bar.
Working out of their studio in Los Angeles, where they moved in 1952 to be part of California’s burgeoning design scene, the two would produce handcrafted case pieces, tapestries and other decorative objects in a variety of media, including ceramics, textiles, carved wood, mosaics and enamel.
The multifaceted pair collaborated with firms and designers such as Victor Gruen; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Paul McCobb; Steve Chase; and Arthur Elrod, an incredibly influential talent whose own clients included Frank and Lucille Capra, Hoagy Carmichael, Claudette Colbert, and more.
The Ackermans’ prolific body of work is distinguished by a hand-wrought sense of warmth and texture; a mix of folk art — like figuration and colorful abstraction; depictions of flowers, animals, children and mythical figures; and a belief in the Bauhaus principles of design. These days, their oeuvre proves very much in demand, and the Ackermans, in the tradition of husband-and-wife creators like the Eameses and Les Lalanne, rank among the most influential design couples in history.
Evelyn considered her Stories from the Bible, comprised of 40 individual cloisonné squares, each depicting a different tale from the Old Testament, to be her most challenging and gratifying piece. She worked on it every day for a year and half, completing the composition — which was acquired by the Smithsonian Museum — in 1985.
Evelyn died in 2012 at age 88, while Jerome, known as Jerry, died in 2019. A testament to the renewed interest in their work, Pointed Leaf Press published Hand-in-Hand, Ceramics, Mosaics, Tapestries, and Woodcarvings by California Mid-Century Designers Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman in 2014, the first book to document the lives and careers of the couple.
Find vintage Evelyn Ackerman wall decorations and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Evelyn Ackerman Large Scale Wood Carved Panel for Era Industries
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large scale wood carved panel by California artist, Evelyn Ackerman for Era Industries c.1960s. This carving features various nature themes like the sun, trees, fish, birds and leav...
Wood
Evelyn Ackerman 'Horsemen' Wood Carved Panel
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wood carving by California artist, Evelyn Ackerman, c.1964, USA. This plaque features five mounted horsemen. Dimensions 39" width x 1" depth x 9.25" height. Condition Good vintage...
Wood
Set of Eight Evelyn Ackerman Carved Redwood Panels
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Beautiful and rare vintage set of (8) Evelyn Ackerman carved Redwood panels with animals and people. Designed and manufactured by Era Industries in conju...
Wood
$6,550 / set
Set of Ten Evelyn Ackerman Carved Oak Panels
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Beautiful and rare vintage set of (10) Evelyn Ackerman carved Oak panels Designed and manufactured by ERA Industries in conjunction with Panelcarve by Ackerman in the 1970s. Solid Oa...
Oak
Pair of Hand Carved Cherub Angel Head, Anri, Italy, 1980s
By ANRI
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Beautiful hand carved pair of Cherub Angel head, found at an estate sale in Germany. Made by Anri a well-known wood carving company in Italy. We believe that these pieces are from th...
Wood
$4,475
H 43.31 in W 30.32 in D 23.63 in
Large Antique Wooden Carved Black Forest Baroque Stag Head with 10 Point Trophy
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Large Antique Wooden Carved Black Forest Baroque stag head with 10 Point Trophy A large antique Black Forest baroque stag head. Carved in typical abstract style of the early 18th century. It is mounted on a wooden carved and painted plaque with emblem and foliages and features a large real stag antler trophy. The head still has its original polycrome painted finish witch is partly restored. The left side of the plaque has been replaced. A great individual piece which enhances every wall decoration. A special way to present hunting trophies is to attach them to carved animal heads. This tradition exists since the Middle Ages. Even after intensive investigations, it is not yet possible to explain exactly how this happened. The carved heads are often colored and mounted on cartouches that are also carved and painted. They follow a naturalistic representation and one could think that in this way they are symbolically brought back from the abstraction of dead antlers into liveliness. Famous artists to be named are Madl in Ichenhausen, Germany and Heissl in Ebensee, Austria. Around 1900, the antler collection...
Antler
$1,925Sale Price|30% Off
H 20.5 in Dm 1.75 in
Carved Redwood Architectural Panel by Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman for Panelcarve
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in BROOKLYN, NY
The radiating sun motif reflects the optimism and indoor–outdoor living ideals central to California mid-century architecture. Solar imagery became a defining decorative element in t...
Wood
$680
H 11.75 in W 5.75 in D 5.75 in
Black Forest Folk Art Carved Wood Deer Head with Glass Eyes, 19th Century
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A great looking hand carved original wooden Folk Art deer head wall decoration. A great piece for a suitable ambiance in a trophy room or the office of ...
Glass, Wood
Evelyn Ackerman Carved Redwood Panel for Panelcarve, circa 1950s
By Panelcarve, Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Cathedral City, CA
Evelyn Ackerman Carved Redwood Panel for Panelcarve, circa 1950s. Features a bird, ram and frog in typical Ackerman style. Measures 36" wide, 12" high and 1" deep. Stamped "copyrig...
Wood
$1,880
H 23.5 in W 8.5 in D 14.75 in
Large Folk Art Wood Carved Deer Head with Real Antlers, Austria 19th Century
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A great looking hand carved original wooden Folk Art deer head wall decoration. A great piece for a suitable ambiance in a trophy room or the office of ...
Wood
Evelyn Ackerman Cityscape Tapestry
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Highland, IN
A lovely tapestry by Evelyn Ackerman in vivid warm hues, this piece interprets a cityscape as abstract blocks of color. We believe the title of this piece is "Byzantia". 33.5"h X ...
Wool
$1,225Sale Price|30% Off
H 24.5 in W 9 in D 1 in
Evelyn Ackerman Panelcarve Art Flora de Madera Era Industries 1963
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Stafford, TX
Beautiful wood carving in great overall condition as seen. See photos for details. Message with questions.
Walnut
$875Sale Price|63% Off
H 16 in W 13 in D 1 in
Antique Carved Wood Sailboat set in Open Waters Oil Painting 1920's
By Esposito
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
8-158 hand carved sailboat on open waters set in a wood frame Signed on verso Esposito 1920 Image size 9.5 x 12.5".
Fruitwood, Paint
$750
H 10 in W 8 in D 7 in
American Antique Burnt Wood Folk Art Pyrography Match Stick House, mid century
Located in South Burlington, VT
This is a wonderful likely one of a kind hand crafted and hand burned folk art "Match Stick" house or cottage that dates back to the 1940's. It is an imaginatively conceived hand ...
Wood, Fabric
Rare Hydastone “Flora de Madera” Panel by Evelyn Ackerman, 1960s
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Oceanside, US
A rare Flora de Madera wall panel by renowned California designer Evelyn Ackerman, produced by ERA Industries in the 1960s. This sculptural bas-relief depicts a stylized female figure holding a flower, surrounded by Ackerman’s signature geometric border—an iconic example of mid-century West Coast modernism. What sets this piece apart is its Hydastone construction—a high-strength, gypsum-based casting material used for a limited number of Ackerman’s panels...
Cement, Other
$960
H 12 in W 6.5 in D 9 in
Black Forest Folk Art Carved Wood Chamois Head with Real Horns, 19th Century
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A great looking hand carved original wooden Folk Art chamois head wall decoration. A great piece for a suitable ambiance in a trophy room or the office of a Hunter or Woodsman. More ...
Wood
Evelyn Ackerman Bird Wood Carved Panel
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wood carving by California artist, Evelyn Ackerman, c.1960s. This plaque features a hand carved bird. Dimensions 9.25" width x 1" depth x 12" height. Condition Good vintage condit...
Wood
Evelyn Ackerman Animal Wood Carved Panel
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wood carving by California artist, Evelyn Ackerman, c.1960s. This carving features a hand carved creature. Dimensions 12.5" width x 9.25" depth x 1" height. Condition Good, origina...
Wood
Evelyn Ackerman Carved Wood Panel
By Evelyn Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wood carving by California artist, Evelyn Ackerman, c.1960s. This carving features three animals, a zebra, an antelope and an owl in a rectangular ebonized wood frame. Dimensions 4...
Wood