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.
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery Bowl
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman 98”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This examp...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This example ...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery Bowl
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman 93”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This examp...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic vessel signed “Ackerman”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This exampl...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid century modern aesthetic. This example ...
Ceramic
Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman Ceramic Weed Pot
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This piece was directly acquired from the home studio of Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman in Culver City, California. The hand thrown ceramic weed pot is one of a kind. It is in pristine c...
Ceramic
Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman "Snowflake" Ceramic Dish
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This piece was directly acquired from the home studio of Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman in Culver City, California. The hand thrown ceramic dish entitled "Snowflake" is one of a kind. It...
Ceramic
Art Pottery, Studio Ceramic /Weed Pot, Feelie by Brenda Williams
By Brenda Williams
Located in Buffalo, NY
Art Pottery, Studio ceramic /weed pot, feelie by Brenda Williams. Northern California artist. Stunning form, wonderful glaze. Last photo ad...
Ceramic
$450Sale Price|52% Off
H 4.75 in Dm 6.75 in
Modernist Sgraffito Decorated Red Ware Pottery Bowl by Rozsika Blackstone
Located in Ferndale, MI
Rozsika Blackstone New York and Arizona, circa 1920-62 pottery vessel. Deep bowl in dark brown glaze, sgraffito decorated in an abstract vertical design allowing the red ware...
Pottery
$795
H 3.5 in W 9.75 in D 11.75 in
Mid Century Free Form Ceramic Bowl by Flora Eckert Hammat, Turquoise Art Pottery
Located in Miami, FL
Mid Century Free Form Ceramic Bowl by Flora Eckert Hammat, Turquoise Art Pottery Stunning naturalistic pottery bowl by an American ceramics artist, Flora Eckert Hammat of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vivid colors, original organic form. Signed Hammat original...
Ceramic
Monumental Mid-20th Century American Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Chicago, IL
A monumental-scale mid-20th century American studio hand-thrown glazed ceramic bowl with fantastic texture and earthy neutral glaze colors. Signed illegibly on the bottom.
Ceramic
Artistic Vintage Danish Pottery Bowl from the 1950s
Located in Søborg, DK
Vintage artistic Danish pottery bowl with a beautiful abstract design Signed on the base but artist unknown No cracks or chips.
Pottery
Large French Ceramic Vase Vallauris by Jérôme Massier 60s, G125
By Jerome Massier
Located in Ternay, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Nice ceramic from the 60's by the artist Jérôme Massier made in Vallauris. Enameling in blue and brown colors with a bird design on one side reminding th...
Ceramic
$85 / set
H 2.5 in Dm 3.5 in
Japanese Handmade Ceramic Pottery Textured Chawan Yunomi Tea Ceremony Cup Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
Wonderfully made and designed Japanese Chawan or Yunomi tea cup. Great texture and color. Likely Mid-20th Century Showa period but could be older. Fine craftsmanship. Very attracti...
Ceramic, Stoneware
Geometric Pottery Bowl
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
Abstract native Peruvian pottery bowl. Red background color and black geometric patterns. Dia :8.5”, Height : 3.25
Clay
$106
H 7.09 in Dm 3.94 in
Mid Century Vintage White and Green Porcelain Ceramic Pot Vase, Germany, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Vintage glass in good condition. Only one unique piece. Another items from the collection are available in our store. Porcelain glass.
Ceramic, Porcelain, Glass
$252Sale Price|28% Off
H 5 in Dm 3.5 in
Pottery from Rabat, Morocco, Black and Cream Colors, Contemporary Ceramic Jar
Located in New York, NY
Pottery from Morocco. Inspired by Swedish midcentury pottery like Stig Lindberg. Designed and made by a local artist in Rabat.
Ceramic
Pol Chambost 1950s French Pottery Bowl
By Pol Chambost
Located in New York, NY
An original 1960s pale pink and black striped glossy glazed bowl by famed French ceramicist, Pol Chambost. Signed. The inner bowl is a mottled pale pink. The top shape is either a he...
Ceramic
$2,132
H 14.97 in Dm 4.14 in
Jerome Massier Fils Hand-Painted Ceramic Vase: Timeless Elegance from Vallauris
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Embrace the allure of early 20th-century craftsmanship with this exquisite hand-painted ceramic vase by Jerome Massier Fils. Manufactured in Vallauris, France, this piece is a testam...
Ceramic
Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman One of a Kind Studio Ceramic Vessel
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
This vessel was designed and produced by Jerome Ackerman circa 2000-2010. The provenance of the piece is direct from the collection of Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman...
Ceramic
Sold
H 2.8 in W 22 in D 1.5 in
Evelyn and Jerry Jerome Ackerman, Knife Holder/Wood Wall Sculpture /Panel, Titled
By Era Industries, Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This knife holder was retailed by Macy's store in the 70/80's for the gourmet department This is called "Bird Garden". This piece came from the Ackerman's studio, never used, and wit...
Wood