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
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
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
$775 / item
H 2 in Dm 11.5 in
Antique Art Deco Californian Mexican Art Pottery Ceramic Charger Bowl Mission
By Bauer Pottery, Catalina Pottery
Located in San Diego, CA
Up for sale is a wonderful piece of art deco/streamline pottery. This piece is a low bowl/charger. It has a Mexican motif but pretty sure this was made in California. I am not sure w...
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
$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
Spanish Blue & White Pottery Bowl
By Spanish Manufactory
Located in Kingsbridge, GB
Antique glazed ceramic bowl/plate decorated in cobalt blue on a cream background, inspired by the Fajalauza Iberian earthenware tradition from Granada. The bowl with a stylized, hand...
Pottery
Rare Jerome Ackerman for Jenev pottery bowl
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Fraser, MI
Rare elongated ceramic bowl by Jerome Ackerman for Jenev.
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
$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
Robert Chapman Turner (AM., 1913-2005) Studio Pottery Ceramic Vase.
By Robert Turner
Located in Chicago, IL
ROBERT CHAPMAN TURNER (AMERICAN, 1913-2005 STUDIO ART POTTERY STONEWARE VASE, cylindrical form with sharply tapered foot, having light greyish blue glaze. Marks to underside include ...
Ceramic
Vintage Original Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This hand-thrown studio pottery bowl is a sophisticated example of contemporary ceramic art, defined by its masterful use of reactive glazing. The vessel features a rich, warm amber ...
Pottery
Large Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Large hand-thrown stoneware bowl with expressive iron-oxide brushwork interior, olive ash-glazed exterior, and signed foot.
Ceramic
1960s Glazed Ceramic Studio Pottery Jug Style Doyle Lane
By Doyle Lane
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Mid-Century Modern muted yellow and brown glazed pottery jug pitcher after designs of Doyle Lane USA 1960s In crackling topography wonderful textur...
Pottery