Kagan Crescent Chair
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum, Chrome
Vintage 1970s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Nickel
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Wood, Poplar, Burl
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Textile, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Organic Modern Center Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Organic Modern Chandeliers and Pen...
Brass
Vintage 1940s European Scandinavian Modern Club Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
Vintage 1940s European Scandinavian Modern Club Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Center Tables
Wood, Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Western European Rugs
Natural Fiber, Synthetic, Wool
Vintage 1970s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Chairs
Wool, Plastic
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Chaise Longues
Bouclé, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary American Post-Modern Sofas
Upholstery
Recent Sales
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Upholstery
Late 20th Century American Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Settees
Bouclé
Vintage 1970s American Club Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1980s American Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1970s American Lounge Chairs
Leather
Vintage 1970s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Kagan Crescent Chair For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Kagan Crescent Chair?
Vladimir Kagan for sale on 1stDibs
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.
Finding the Right lounge-chairs for You
While this specific seating is known to all for its comfort and familiar form, the history of how your favorite antique or vintage lounge chair came to be is slightly more ambiguous.
Although there are rare armchairs dating back as far as the 17th century, some believe that the origins of the first official “lounge chair” are tied to Hungarian modernist designer-architect Marcel Breuer. Sure, Breuer wasn’t exactly reinventing the wheel when he introduced the Wassily lounge chair in 1925, but his seat was indeed revolutionary for its integration of bent tubular steel.
Officially, a lounge chair is simply defined as a “comfortable armchair,” which allows for the shape and material of the furnishings to be extremely diverse. Whether or not chaise longues make the cut for this category is a matter of frequent debate.
The Eames lounge chair, on the other hand, has come to define somewhat of a universal perception of what a lounge chair can be. Introduced in 1956, the Eames lounger (and its partner in cozy, the ottoman) quickly became staples in television shows, prestigious office buildings and sumptuous living rooms. Venerable American mid-century modern designers Charles and Ray Eames intended for it to be the peak of luxury, which they knew meant taking furniture to the next level of style and comfort. Their chair inspired many modern interpretations of the lounge — as well as numerous copies.
On 1stDibs, find a broad range of unique lounge chairs that includes everything from antique Victorian-era seating to vintage mid-century modern lounge chairs by craftspersons such as Hans Wegner to contemporary choices from today’s innovative designers.