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 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 Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman furniture on 1stDibs.
Pair of Carved Redwood Door Panels by Evelyn Ackerman
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Incredible 1960’s carved redwood panels for entry doors by Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman. Designed to go over a double entry doors. Four panels with frame f...
Aluminum
Pair of Massive Antique Arch Form Doors
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A pair of antique doors with arched and paneled design with remnants of old green and other encrusted paint. The doors do have some old hinges an...
Iron
$3,368Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 82.68 in W 32.29 in D 1.19 in
Pair of Antique Provençal Doors, Carved/Painted Blue, Late 19th Century France
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Pair of old Provençal interior doors, with carved panels painted in blue, one was a panel (the lowest), built in the late 19th century in the south of France. Delicate and elegant c...
Wood
Pair of Louis XVI Style Doors
Located in Sheffield, MA
Pair of tall painted doors with original hardware. Will need new glass. Other doors available but not with glass panel. Doors can work well in Swedish Gustavian style decor
Wood
Pair of 19th Century Swedish Diamond Pattern Doors
Located in Atlanta, GA
A pair of Swedish doors with geometric patterns and original paint from the 19th century. This pair of antique doors from Sweden feature a repeating diamond pattern, comprised of a s...
Iron
Antique Carved Teak Wood Indian Door/Gate
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Individually hand crafted Teak door in early 20th century. Industrial metal details. Two salvaged doors that have been barred together to make one larg...
Iron
$1,242 / set
H 8.67 in W 3.94 in D 2.37 in
Pair of Midcentury Door Handles of Hammered Brass and Blackened Copper, Italy
Located in London, GB
Pair of Italian midcentury door handles of hammered brass and blackened copper. Handcrafted pieces with a hammered pattern to the brass and deep gre...
Copper, Brass
Pair of Brass Door Handles by William Tonks & Sons
Located in London, GB
A pair of Edwardian brass door handles by William Tonks & Sons of Birmingham. W T & S sun mark to back. William Tonks founded the firm in 1789. T...
Brass
Imposing Pair of Carved Satin Wood Doors
Located in London, GB
A pair of monumental solid satinwood doors with classical egg and dart carved decoration and fine quality brass door furniture. Brass door pulls marked CHING (Comyn Ching of Londo...
Satinwood
$5,560 / set
H 131.5 in W 48 in D 1.5 in
10 ft+ Tall French Pair of Glass Paneled Wood Doors from the Early 20th C.
Located in Atlanta, GA
This is a pair of over-sized French doors from the early 20th century. These antique French doors are substantial, standing at a height of more than 10 feet! Each door has 18 glass panels, framed by vertically slatted wood at the upper and lower portions of the door. The doors have old paint and patina, slightly differing in colors on each door. These massive antique French glass panel doors...
Glass, Wood
$4,678
H 79.14 in W 30.32 in D 1.19 in
Antique Internal Door in Walnut with Six Hand-Carved Panels, 18th Century Italy
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Ancient interior door, built in precious solid walnut wood, decorated with six hand-carved panels, from the full eighteenth century from Italy, from Piedmont, measuring cm w 77 x h 2...
Walnut
Bronze Pair of Push Pull Door Handles Relief of Waves
Located in London, GB
Two square cast bronze door handle, letter box and key holder with surface with strong relief like the waves. These identical handles can be applied inside or outside on a pair of double doors next to each other or on a single door on opposite sides. They can also make cupboard doors and kitchen units...
Bronze
$3,743Sale Price|20% Off
H 81.89 in W 43.31 in D 2.76 in
Double wing door, carved and painted in the panel, '700 Italy
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Antique double-wing painted door, decorated with carved panel and smooth back, maximum size including the stop cm w 110 x h 208 x d 7, has original wall maps to push, light measure w...
Wood