Vladimir Kagan Rocking Chair in Walnut and Leather Kagan-Dreyfuss 1953
View Similar Items
Vladimir Kagan Rocking Chair in Walnut and Leather Kagan-Dreyfuss 1953
About the Item
- Creator:Vladimir Kagan (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 39.5 in (100.33 cm)Width: 32 in (81.28 cm)Depth: 42 in (106.68 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1953
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. expected wear to leather.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:Seller: SKU000016891stDibs: LU878528354582
Vladimir Kagan
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.
More From This Seller
View AllVintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Fiberglass
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Iron
You May Also Like
Late 20th Century North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Fabric, Walnut
Early 2000s American Post-Modern Rocking Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1990s American Modern Rocking Chairs
Bouclé
