# Michael Lax

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Michael_Lax
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Michael_Lax.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lax
> Source revision: 1351267443
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

For the South African cricketer, see [Michael Lax (cricketer)](/source/Michael_Lax_(cricketer)).

**Michael Lax** (1929–1999) was an American [industrial designer](/source/Industrial_designer) who created household products for companies such as Copco, [Lightolier](/source/Lightolier), [Dansk](/source/Dansk_International_Designs), [Salton](/source/Salton_Inc.), Metaal, [Mikasa](/source/Mikasa_%26_Company), [Tupperware](/source/Tupperware), and [American Cyanamid](/source/American_Cyanamid). Several of his best-known products, including the Lytegem lamp by Lightolier and the Copco enamel-coated teakettle with teak handle, are represented in permanent museum collections.

## Personal life

Lax was born on November 8, 1929, in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), New York. He grew up on Morton Street in the west village and went to elementary school at PS 2. He graduated from the [New York School of Music and Art](/source/New_York_School_of_Music_and_Art) in New York City (1947) and [Alfred University](/source/Alfred_University)'s [New York State College of Ceramics](/source/New_York_State_College_of_Ceramics) (1951). In 1950, he married Rosemary Raymond; they were divorced in 1978.[1]

## Design career

In 1954, Lax went to [Finland](/source/Finland) with his wife Rosemary and 2 year old daughter, Jennifer, on a [Fulbright Fellowship](/source/Fulbright_Fellowship), where he learned [Scandinavian modern design](/source/Scandinavian_design). He was hired by [Russel Wright](/source/Russel_Wright), in 1956, to work on a series of [dinnerware](/source/Dinnerware) designs. Lax did [freelance](/source/Freelance) work until 1960 when he began to work on [enameled cast iron](/source/Enameled_cast_iron) cookware for Copco; this was his first break as a solo designer.[2] Lax designed a line of cast-iron and porcelain enamel cookware for Copco including a 1962 enamel-coated [teakettle](/source/Teakettle) with a bent [teak](/source/Teak) handle which became one of his most recognizable pieces. More than one million of these teakettles were sold before it was discontinued in the 1980s.[2] Other popular Copco pieces designed by Lax include a [fondue pot](/source/Fondue_pot), a [casserole](/source/Casserole)/[paella](/source/Paella) pan, and a [Dutch oven](/source/Dutch_oven). These pieces are no longer manufactured and are considered [collectable](/source/Collectable).[3]

Another of Lax's well-known pieces was a low-voltage, high-intensity lamp that he designed for [Lightolier](/source/Lightolier) in 1965.[4] The lamp, named the Lytegem, had a [minimalist](/source/Minimalist) design with a cube base and a ball reflector on a [telescoping](/source/Telescoping_(mechanics)) arm. Shortly after its release, the lamp had captured 10% of the market.[2] It is now part of the permanent collection at the [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art) (MOMA) in New York City.[1]

Lax's other designs included "Cut Outs for Play", playground equipment designed for [U.S. Plywood](/source/U._S._Plywood_Corp.),[1] a [treehouse](/source/Treehouse) for adults,[5] a [yogurt maker](/source/Yogurt_maker) for [Salton](/source/Salton_Inc.),[6] containers for [Tupperware](/source/Tupperware), glasses and tableware for [Mikasa](/source/Mikasa_%26_Company) and Rosenthal, and an acrylic [bathtub](/source/Bathtub) for [American Cyanamid](/source/American_Cyanamid).[1][2]

Lax was known to be a perfectionist with a hands-on approach to design. He made his own [plaster casts](/source/Plaster_casts) for the designs that he created, and he traveled to countries where his products were being made to oversee production.[2]

## Exhibits

Lax's work has been included in exhibits and permanent museum collections, including:

- Lytegem for Lightolier, 1965 - in the permanent design collection at MOMA[7]
- Household air ionizer in the form of a simple black pyramid by Amcor, 1980 - in the permanent design collection at MOMA[8]
- Copco fondue pot - [Smithsonian American Art Museum](/source/Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum)[9]
- *Design Since 1945*, 1983 - an exhibit at the [Philadelphia Museum of Art](/source/Philadelphia_Museum_of_Art)[1]

## Sculpture career

Later in his career, Lax became increasingly interested in sculpture. In 1977, he received a [Rome Prize](/source/Rome_Prize) to study art at the [American Academy in Rome](/source/American_Academy_in_Rome). He returned to Italy in 1984 and opened a studio in [Pietrasanta](/source/Pietrasanta), Tuscany, where he worked on a series of architectural forms in marble and [cast bronze](/source/Cast_bronze). Some of these items were exhibited at the Wainscott Gallery, [Wainscott](/source/Wainscott,_New_York), New York.[1] A series of [cast aluminum](/source/Cast_aluminum) bowls that he designed for Metaal (by Grainware) were formed from the breasts of a series of bronze nudes that he had sculpted.[2]

Lax died on May 25[1]),[a] 1999, in [Bridgehampton](/source/Bridgehampton,_New_York), New York.

## References

1. Iovine, Julie V. (June 5, 1999). ["Michael Lax, Designer, Dies at 69; Sculptor of 60's Icons"](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/05/arts/michael-lax-designer-dies-at-69-sculptor-of-60-s-icons.html). *The New York Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180112040700/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/05/arts/michael-lax-designer-dies-at-69-sculptor-of-60-s-icons.html) 2018-01-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

1. Hall, Peter Alec (July 30, 1999). ["Michael Lax"](https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jul/30/guardianobituaries2). *the Guardian*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140508001600/https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jul/30/guardianobituaries2) 2014-05-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

1. Gaukel, Erich (2019). "Cookware with Attitude". *Treasures*. **8** (5): 4–7. [ISSN 2162-3147](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2162-3147)

1. Flinchum, Russell (2008). *American Design*. The Museum of Modern Art. ISBN 978-0-87070-740-7. Including a picture of the lamp.

1. ["Build yourself a nest in a tree"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20713665/build_yourself_a_nest_in_a_tree/). *Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter*. July 16, 1966. p. 8. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

1. [*New York Magazine*](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DsUDAAAAMBAJ). New York Media, LLC. September 25, 1972. pp. [49](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DsUDAAAAMBAJ/page/n48)

1. Grant, Laurie (April 27, 2011). ["Philips Lightolier Lytegem Lamp"](http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/products/philips-lightolier-lytegem-lamp_o). *www.architectmagazine.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150324082534/https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/products/philips-lightolier-lytegem-lamp_o) 2015-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

1. ["Michael Lax. Modulion 10 Ionizer. 1980"](https://www.moma.org/collection/works/2839). *www.moma.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210427113317/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/2839) 2021-04-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

1. ["Michael Lax"](https://americanart.si.edu/artist/michael-lax-2835). *Smithsonian American Art Museum*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221108205031/https://americanart.si.edu/artist/michael-lax-2835) 2022-11-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

1. The *New York Times* appended a correction to their obituary stating that the date of death had been mis-reported and should have been May 25; the *Guardian* gave the date as May 28.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Lax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lax) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lax?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.