Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
The pioneers of modern furniture design in America in the mid-20th century all had their moments of flamboyance: Charles and Ray Eames produced the startling, biomorphic La Chaise; George Nelson’s firm created the Marshmallow sofa; Edward Wormley had his decadent Listen to Me chaise. But no designer of the day steadily offered works with more verve and dynamism than Vladimir Kagan. While others, it seems, designed with suburban households in mind, Kagan aimed to suit the tastes of young, sophisticated city-dwellers. With signature designs that feature sleekly curved frames and others that have dramatic out-thrust legs, Kagan made furniture sexy.
Kagan’s father was a Russian master cabinetmaker who took his family first to Germany (where Vladimir was born) and then to New York in 1938. After studying architecture at Columbia University, Kagan opened a design firm at age 22 and immediately made a splash with his long, low and sinuous Serpentine sofa. Furniture lines such as the Tri-symmetric group of glass-topped, three-legged tables and the vivacious Contours chairs soon followed.
Kagan’s choices of form and materials evolved through subsequent decades, embracing lucite, aluminum and burl-wood veneers. By the late 1960s, Kagan was designing austere, asymmetrical cabinets and his Omnibus group of modular sofas and chairs. For all his aesthetic élan, Kagan said that throughout his career, his touchstone was comfort. “A lot of modern furniture was not comfortable. And so comfort is: form follows function. The function was to make it comfortable,” he once commented. “I created what I called vessels for the human body.”
A diverse group of bodies have made themselves at home with Kagan designs. Among the famous names who commissioned and collected his designs are Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Andy Warhol, David Lynch, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and firms such as Gucci and Giorgio Armani. His work is in numerous museum collections, including those of the Victoria & Albert and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Because of its idiosyncrasy, Kagan’s work did not lend itself to mass-production. Kagan never signed on with any of the major furniture-making corporations, and examples of his designs are relatively rare. As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, even decades after their conception, Kagan pieces still command the eye, with their freshness, energy, sensuality and wit.
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Upholstery, Wicker
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Aluminum
2010s American Minimalist Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Fiberglass, Leather
2010s Asian Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Synthetic, Wicker, Fabric
2010s American Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Upholstery, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Lacquer
2010s Asian Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Aluminum
2010s European Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Travertine, Copper
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Velvet, Lucite
Early 2000s American Post-Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
1970s Vintage Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary American Post-Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Post-Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
20th Century American Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Post-Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
Early 2000s American Post-Modern Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Leather
2010s American Vladimir Kagan Daybeds
Upholstery, Lucite