Phillip and Kelvin LaVerne Bronze Coffee Table
About the Item
- Creator:Philip and Kelvin LaVerne (Metalworker)
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 50.25 in (127.64 cm)Depth: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:
Philip and Kelvin LaVerne
Look closely at any vintage furniture designed by father-son duo Philip and Kelvin LaVerne and a cacophony of stylistic influences reveals itself.
The LaVernes’ position at the intersection of art and design was the result of their combined backgrounds: Philip (1907–87) studied painting with Ashcan School artist John Sloan at the Art Students League of New York, while his son, Kelvin (b. 1937), attended the Parsons School of Design, taking classes in art history, furniture design and metalwork. The resulting merge of stylistic elements and innovative processes make for singular designs that defy categorization, striking a balance between modern and traditional, intricate and minimal, art piece and functional item. Their work was also strikingly different from the modern furniture created by Philip’s brother Erwine and his wife, Estelle, of Laverne Originals.
The LaVernes began producing one-of-a-kind furniture and sculpture in the mid-1950s out of a studio on Wooster Street in New York City before opening a showroom on Manhattan’s East 57th Street. As their 1960s advertisements declared: “It’s not just functional and not just art, it’s an investment.”
The LaVernes married a stunning array of techniques and styles to achieve their singular, deeply layered look for one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces. Chinoiserie motifs abound on many of their acid-etched tables, but art from ancient Greece and Egypt also served as inspiration. The influence of figurative sculptors is evident in designs like coffee tables and side tables with bronze bodies serving as frames or bases; other pieces, meanwhile, have deeply detailed surfaces and strikingly simple silhouettes.
The duo developed their own unconventional methods — sometimes to an extreme — for finishing their pieces: Techniques employed by the LaVernes included acid washing and burying furniture underground in a mixture of soil and chemicals to achieve a desired patina through oxidation. While they sometimes used pewter and silver, bronze was one of their most commonly employed materials, either etched or cast and sometimes paired with glass tops. Their partnership ended when Philip died in 1987 and Kelvin shifted his practice to sculpture.
Find an extraordinary range of vintage Philip and Kelvin LaVerne tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Houston, TX
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Midcentury Maison Bagues French Bronze Coffee TableBy Maison BaguèsLocated in Houston, TXAn elegant and slender Maison Bagues coffee table with quality cast bronze legs and original patinated mirror glass top with signs of wear commensurate with age. There is a scratch o...Category
Mid-20th Century French Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Maison Bagues Coffee TableLocated in Houston, TXMaison Bagues brass and glass coffee table with faux bamboo design and slightly splayed foot at end. Glass has some scratch marks from previous use but perfectly usable.Category
Mid-20th Century French Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Storage Box Coffee TableLocated in Houston, TXAntique storage box on custom iron stand. The box opens with hinge on the top.Category
Antique Late 19th Century Belgian Industrial Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- 19th C. Senufo Bed Coffee TableLocated in Houston, TXHand carved by the Senufo tribes from a single block of iroko wood, native to the west coast of Africa. The wood is tough, dense and very durable. Shown with cone style legs and a ra...Category
Antique 19th Century African Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- 19th C. Rustic Bench or Coffee TableLocated in Houston, TXRustic wooden bench or coffee table.Category
Antique 19th Century Belgian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- 17th Century Style Capital Base Glass Coffee TableLocated in Houston, TXGesso base coffee table with brass arms and heavy glass top. The base is a gesso model of a 17th century marble capital.Category
Late 20th Century Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Coffee Table by Phillip and Kelvin LaverneBy Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in Dallas, TXAn oval etched bronze coffee table designed by Phillip and Kelvin Laverne.Category
Vintage 1970s Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Bronze Coffee Table by Philip and Kelvin LaVerneBy Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in Dorchester, MAFather and son Philip and Kelvin LaVerne achieved their detailed table designs by acid-etching bronze, adding pewter and enamel, then burying their work in a propriety formula of ear...Category
Vintage 1960s American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsPewter, Bronze
- Philip and Kelvin Laverne Coffee TableBy Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in New York, NYAn Oval form etched bronze Coffee table designed by Philip and Kelvin Laverne. This unique coffee table is of two tone depicting chinoiserie figures.Category
Vintage 1970s American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Philip & Kelvin LaVerne "Michelangelo" Bronze Coffee TableBy Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in Dallas, TXA large incised and acid etched patinated bronze coffee table depicting the creation of man by Michelangelo . Supported by two fluted column bases. Signed Philip and Kelvin LaVerne.Category
Vintage 1960s Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Philip and Kelvin LaVerne Coffee Table in Etched BronzeBy Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in North Hollywood, CAPhilip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table in etched bronze and pewter.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Fantastic Acid Etched Asian Inspired Coffee Table by Phillip and Kelvin LaverneBy Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in Pemberton, NJFantastic acid etched Asian inspired coffee table, made by Phillip and Kelvin Laverne, American, circa 1970s. We love the gold and bronze colored patina mixed with shades of pewter a...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal