Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
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.
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut, Cane
1970s American Post-Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Lucite, Burl
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Glass, Mirror, Formica, Oak
1970s Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cane, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Maple
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Stainless Steel
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Granite, Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Birdseye Maple, Ebony
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
2010s Chinese Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany, Sycamore, Glass, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Pine
1960s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Gesso, Mirror, Wood
1960s American Bauhaus Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cowhide, Mahogany
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Lucite
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut, Lacquer
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Murano Glass, Wood, Lacquer
1970s American Modern Vintage Vladimir Kagan Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Chrome