Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
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.
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Nylon
1970s American Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary North American Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Nylon
1970s Azerbaijani Tribal Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wool
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
20th Century French French Provincial Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
1890s English Victorian Antique Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Gold
Early 19th Century British George III Antique Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Mahogany
1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Steel
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Boxwood, Satinwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wool
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Textile
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wool
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood, Masonite
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood
1960s American Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood
1960s American Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood
1950s American Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Oak, Wood
1960s American Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood, Rosewood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Glass
1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Glass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Softwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman Wall Decorations
Softwood