Each holiday season, we select an image for our member holiday card that inspires and draws attention to the work of an architect, artist, or designer important to the Modern movement. This year, we highlight the work of Jane Slater Marquis (1922-2021), an American artist who worked predominantly in stained glass, completing major commissions throughout the American West.

Every year, Docomomo US selects a historical image for its member holiday card, something that pertains to the culture of Modernist architecture and design. This year, on the occasion of the Cooper Hewitt exhibition A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, one of Ms. Liebes few known annotated design drawings graces the front of the card. 

I didn’t really realize Harry was a well-known sculptor/designer until I was an adult, so his fame did not affect me growing up. I knew he was doing important work when we would visit the shop and see one of his monumental architectural commissions. The way he spoke about his sculptures with a sort of humble pride, how comfortable he seemed in the shop and how he joked with his assistants all indicated to me that he loved his work.

I was almost two years old when my father’s Petal Table was introduced by Knoll in the Los Angeles showroom in 1960. My father always told us that we must do something we loved as a career, and for him, his love of design was infectious.

It never occurred to me that growing up modern or Ackerman was special. I’m still surprised and touched when people express admiration for my parents and their designs. Like most children of well-known designers, it took me years to realize the significance of their contributions.

Growing up, I didn’t think I liked modernist architecture. I disliked Le Corbusier’s La Tourette, and Mies van der Rohe’s glass boxes, and I didn’t like lifeless gray concrete. It was only in graduate school that I discovered the thinking behind it.

One of the benefits of growing up in a home with a strong and distinctive architectural character is that it almost inevitably imparts an innate sense of design and spatial awareness to the people who live there.

We are so excited about our two upcoming special editions we had to give you a sneak peek.