When Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman met and married in Detroit in 1948, they began a seven-decade love affair and creative partnership that would have a major impact on the aesthetic of California mid-century modernism.
At the time, Jerome was a charismatic World War II veteran, Evelyn a young assistant at Luce Lipton Interior Design Studio, where he first spied her folding fabric samples and presented her with a Milky Way bar.
Working out of their studio in Los Angeles, where they moved in 1952 to be part of California’s burgeoning design scene, the two would produce handcrafted case pieces, tapestries and other decorative objects in a variety of media, including ceramics, textiles, carved wood, mosaics and enamel.
The multifaceted pair collaborated with firms and designers such as Victor Gruen; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Paul McCobb; Steve Chase; and Arthur Elrod, an incredibly influential talent whose own clients included Frank and Lucille Capra, Hoagy Carmichael, Claudette Colbert, and more.
The Ackermans’ prolific body of work is distinguished by a hand-wrought sense of warmth and texture; a mix of folk art — like figuration and colorful abstraction; depictions of flowers, animals, children and mythical figures; and a belief in the Bauhaus principles of design. These days, their oeuvre proves very much in demand, and the Ackermans, in the tradition of husband-and-wife creators like the Eameses and Les Lalanne, rank among the most influential design couples in history.
Evelyn died in 2012 at age 88, while Jerome, known as Jerry, died in 2019. A testament to the renewed interest in their work, Pointed Leaf Press published Hand-in-Hand, Ceramics, Mosaics, Tapestries, and Woodcarvings by California Mid-Century Designers Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman in 2014, the first book to document the lives and careers of the couple.
Find vintage Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman furniture on 1stDibs.
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic vessel signed “Ackerman”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This exampl...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid century modern aesthetic. This example ...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This example ...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery Bowl
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman 98”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This examp...
Ceramic
Jerome Ackerman Modernist Ceramic Pottery Bowl
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Jerome Ackerman glazed ceramic bowl signed “Ackerman 93”. Jerome Ackerman and his wife Evelyn were central figures in creating the California mid-century modern aesthetic. This examp...
Ceramic
$775 / item
H 2 in Dm 11.5 in
Antique Art Deco Californian Mexican Art Pottery Ceramic Charger Bowl Mission
By Bauer Pottery, Catalina Pottery
Located in San Diego, CA
Up for sale is a wonderful piece of art deco/streamline pottery. This piece is a low bowl/charger. It has a Mexican motif but pretty sure this was made in California. I am not sure w...
Pottery
$795
H 3.5 in W 9.75 in D 11.75 in
Mid Century Free Form Ceramic Bowl by Flora Eckert Hammat, Turquoise Art Pottery
Located in Miami, FL
Mid Century Free Form Ceramic Bowl by Flora Eckert Hammat, Turquoise Art Pottery Stunning naturalistic pottery bowl by an American ceramics artist, Flora Eckert Hammat of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vivid colors, original organic form. Signed Hammat original...
Ceramic
$450Sale Price|52% Off
H 4.75 in Dm 6.75 in
Modernist Sgraffito Decorated Red Ware Pottery Bowl by Rozsika Blackstone
Located in Ferndale, MI
Rozsika Blackstone New York and Arizona, circa 1920-62 pottery vessel. Deep bowl in dark brown glaze, sgraffito decorated in an abstract vertical design allowing the red ware...
Pottery
Pol Chambost 1950s French Pottery Bowl
By Pol Chambost
Located in New York, NY
An original 1960s pale pink and black striped glossy glazed bowl by famed French ceramicist, Pol Chambost. Signed. The inner bowl is a mottled pale pink. The top shape is either a he...
Ceramic
$252Sale Price|28% Off
H 5 in Dm 3.5 in
Pottery from Rabat, Morocco, Contemporary Ceramic Jar, Black and Cream Colors
Located in New York, NY
Pottery from Morocco. Inspired by Swedish midcentury pottery like Stig Lindberg. Designed and made by a local artist in Rabat.
Ceramic
Spanish Blue & White Pottery Bowl
By Spanish Manufactory
Located in Kingsbridge, GB
Antique glazed ceramic bowl/plate decorated in cobalt blue on a cream background, inspired by the Fajalauza Iberian earthenware tradition from Granada. The bowl with a stylized, hand...
Pottery
$85 / set
H 2.5 in Dm 3.5 in
Japanese Handmade Ceramic Pottery Textured Chawan Yunomi Tea Ceremony Cup Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
Wonderfully made and designed Japanese Chawan or Yunomi tea cup. Great texture and color. Likely Mid-20th Century Showa period but could be older. Fine craftsmanship. Very attracti...
Ceramic, Stoneware
Rare Jerome Ackerman for Jenev pottery bowl
By Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman
Located in Fraser, MI
Rare elongated ceramic bowl by Jerome Ackerman for Jenev.
Ceramic
Artistic Vintage Danish Pottery Bowl from the 1950s
Located in Søborg, DK
Vintage artistic Danish pottery bowl with a beautiful abstract design Signed on the base but artist unknown No cracks or chips.
Pottery
$2,100
H 18.12 in Dm 10.24 in
Large Modernist Bright Red West German Floor Vase by Fohr Pottery, circa 1970
By Fohr, Walter Grau
Located in Landau an der Isar, Bayern
Large floor vase by Fohr Pottery, Germany, circa 1970. The company Fohr started producing decorative pottery in the 1950s under Wilhelm Fohr, although they were originally founded in...
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery
1960s Glazed Ceramic Studio Pottery Jug Style Doyle Lane
By Doyle Lane
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Mid-Century Modern muted yellow and brown glazed pottery jug pitcher after designs of Doyle Lane USA 1960s In crackling topography wonderful textur...
Pottery
Vintage Original Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This evocative vintage studio pottery bowl is a masterclass in organic form and tactile design. Hand-thrown and then expressively altered with pinched, undulating sides, the vessel e...
Pottery