A Barrel lounge chair and Tri-symmetric coffee table were the inaugural pieces of the present collection, acquired by the original owner's mother to furnish her daughter's studio apartment in Brooklyn Heights. Fresh from Harvard Medical School in 1953 and one of the first cohorts of women to graduate from the esteemed institution, she would later go on to establish her own psychiatry practice. In 1954, she married, and the young couple purchased a Midcentury Modern home in suburban New Jersey. Kagan was asked to furnish the home, and after examining the layout in person (and requesting that a wall be removed, which couldn't be done), proposed a selection of designs for the space. In addition to the original Barrel chair and coffee table, a mahogany buffet was ordered with a matching dining set, a headboard, dresser, and nightstands for the bedrooms, and finally, a curved two-piece sofa. After many years, and with the addition of children and pets, the sofa reached its limit. However, the remaining designs remained in the family's collection, witnessing celebrations and life's many milestones for nearly 70 years.
Vladimir Kagan 1927–2016
Vladimir Kagan was an illustrious American furniture designer whose historic career spanned nearly 65 years. Born in Germany in 1927, he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1938 fleeing from the rise of the Nazi regime. He studied architecture at Columbia and later apprenticed with his father, a master cabinetmaker, in his woodworking shop. In 1949, Kagan opened his own shop in New York, shortly thereafter releasing his first furniture collection, receiving the Museum of Modern Art, New York Good Design Award for his wrought-iron chair. His work is well-known for its avant-garde craftsmanship combined with comfort and functionality. The sensuous, organic forms take on human-like characteristics through exaggerated, curved lines. Kagan’s designs are produced with varying materials including brass, acrylic, aluminum and, most notably, wood.
Over the course of his career, his work was highly sought after by celebrity clientele from Marilyn Monroe to Tom Ford, and he lent his design to projects such as Disneyland’s Monsanto House of the Future in 1964 and the Downtown Los Angeles Standard Hotel lobby redesign in 2002. Kagan lectured extensively on the history of modern furniture design at institutions including Parsons School of Design, Yale and Philadelphia University. A highly honored designer, he was elected president of the American Society of Interior Designers New York Chapter in 1990, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, and the American Society of Furniture Designers. In 2009, Kagan was inducted into the Interior Designer Hall of Fame.
Vladimir Kagan died in 2016, leaving behind an artistic legacy and lifetime of creative achievement.
Auction Results Vladimir Kagan
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Curated: The Library and Design Collection of James Zemaitis
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