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Philip and Kelvin LaVerne More Furniture and Collectibles

American

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.

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Creator: Philip and Kelvin LaVerne
Philip & Kelvin Laverne Monumental Custom Architectural Room Divider Screen 1965
By Philip and Kelvin LaVerne
Located in Dallas, TX
This monumental brutalist screen was privately commissioned in 1965 directly from the studios of Philip and Kelvin Laverne for a private residence in New Jersey. The interior of this residence was featured in the New York times as one of the most iconic interiors of the 1960s. The screen is comprised of 25 vertical rows of 5 elements with a total of 125 panels. All of the panels were handmade in the Laverne Studios in NY. Each individual 7x22" panel is unique. They were created by etching the panels with acid and then using a proprietary applied patina technique to create a distinct design on each one. This screen mounts to an anodized gold track allowing the panels to be rotated up to 180 degrees to allow for varying amounts of light to pass through. They can also be opened like a curtain. This extraordinary custom screen...
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Philip and Kelvin LaVerne More Furniture and Collectibles

Materials

Brass

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Philip And Kelvin Laverne more furniture and collectibles for sale on 1stDibs.

Philip and Kelvin LaVerne more furniture and collectibles are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Philip and Kelvin LaVerne more furniture and collectibles, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original more furniture and collectibles by Philip and Kelvin LaVerne were created in the mid-century modern style in united states during the 1960s. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider more furniture and collectibles by Charles and Ray Eames, Gordon & Jane Martz, and Raymor. Prices for Philip and Kelvin LaVerne more furniture and collectibles can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $188,000 and can go as high as $188,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $188,000.

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