Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
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.
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1930s French Louis XV Vintage Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble, Brass
1920s Swedish Art Deco Vintage Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Birch, Rosewood
Early 20th Century English Industrial Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Oak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Teak
Early 20th Century Japanese Japonisme Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Late 19th Century French Victorian Antique Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Oak
20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
1970s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Chrome
1860s English Antique Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
1940s French Industrial Vintage Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Iron
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Evelyn Ackerman Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Travertine, Brass
