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• Lot n° 103 William Katavolos (1924-2020), Ross Littell (1924-2000) & Douglas Kelley (b. 1928) A set of six 'T' chairs for Laverne Originals, mid-20th century Designed 1952 With steel frames and later replaced black leather sling seats 6 pieces Each: 32" H x 23" W x 22.5" D Other Notes: William Katavolos (1924-2020), Ross Littell (1924-2000), and Douglas Kelley (b. 1928) met as students at Pratt Institute in the late 1940s, drawn together by a shared belief that modern design could redefine how people live and interact with their surroundings. After graduating, they formed a collaborative practice, known as Katavolos, Littell & Kelley, or KLK from the late 1940s until the mid 1950s. Each partner brought a distinct voice to the studio. Katavolos, trained as both an architect and industrial designer, went on to teach for decades at Pratt, where he co-directed the Center for Experimental Structures. Littell, raised in Los Angeles, developed textiles and furniture for Knoll and Herman Miller before establishing his career in Europe. Kelley, also a Pratt graduate, worked in Paris for Raymond Loewy and later led the London design consultancy Lippincott, where he oversaw projects ranging from corporate branding to the celebrated Elna Lotus sewing machine. For Laverne Originals in New York, the trio designed furniture, textiles, and dinnerware that quickly caught the eye of the Museum of Modern Art, earning inclusion in the museum's "Good Design" exhibitions of 1953 and 1955. Their most iconic creation is the sculptural T-Chair (1952 - 53), now represented in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, Vitra, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Alongside it, they produced a series of dining tables notable for their clarity of form and material elegance: steel bases paired with marble, rosewood, or glass tops. Examples such as the marble-topped Tinos table (model 8-M, 1953) or later rosewood designs (model 10-R, c. 1960s) demonstrate their ability to distill furniture to its most architectural essence while retaining a sense of richness and refinement, celebrated for their lightness and structural daringness that seems to defy gravity. These designs were produced by Laverne Originals, the firm founded in the late 1930s by husband-and-wife designers Erwine (1909-2003) and Estelle Laverne (1915-1997). From their New York showroom, renamed Laverne International in the 1950s, the couple built a reputation for bold, forward-looking design, most famously the 'Invisible Group' (1957), a suite of acrylic chairs including the 'Buttercup,' 'Lily,' and 'Daffodil.' Though often conflated, Laverne Originals/International was entirely separate from the bronze and pewter furniture created by Philip (1907-1987) and Kelvin LaVerne (b. 1937). The connection between them is purely familial - Erwine Laverne was Philip's brother - but each studio pursued its own path, aesthetic, and clientele.