KELVIN LAVERNE

LaVERNE--Kelvin. (1937-2025). Kelvin LaVerne, age 88, of New York, New York, died peacefully at home surrounded by family, on September 24, 2025. He was born in Bronx, New York in 1937 to Philip and Claire LaVerne. Kelvin often recounted his days playing stoopball, stickball, and other street games of the era. He lived blocks from Yankee Stadium and became an avid fan of the great teams of the 1940s and 1950s, sometimes watching the games and cheering with friends from a nearby rooftop. Born into a line of artists, Kelvin found his calling early on. His grandfather was a muralist, and his father, Philip, a talented, largely self-taught artist, who found success working and innovating in various materials, including glass, wood, and metal. As a teenager, Kelvin joined his father at the company Philip founded, producing works of both fine and functional art, including sculptured tables, mirrors, and wall-hangings. While busy working alongside his father, Kelvin also studied at the Art Students League and the Parsons School of Design, where he was influenced by the sculptor Seymour Lipton. By the 1960s, father and son had together built a successful business and were signing their works "Philip and Kelvin LaVerne," which they sold in galleries and showrooms around the country. Letters of thanks and appreciation from clients filled the walls of their New York showroom, first on 57th Street, and then on Greene Street in SoHo. Seymour, Kelvin's younger and only sibling, worked with the company in sales until he died tragically in 1967, far too young. After his father Philip died in 1987, Kelvin ran the business for another two decades. During this period, he produced mostly abstract, sculptural works. He cared lovingly and selflessly for his mother, Claire, who died in 2010 at the age of 94. Kelvin was a regular in the SoHo community for decades. In the 1960s, he and his father purchased a building on Wooster Street, where Kelvin worked for more than 40 years. He loved chatting with other artists and businesspeople in the area, eating in the local restaurants, and visiting the galleries. In 1969, Kelvin met Agatha, the love of his love, and wife of more than 50 years. They had three children and soon moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They purchased a home in the community of Seaview, Fire Island, where they spent summers with their kids for many years. Kelvin loved the arts, movies, good food, photography, interesting people, and cats. As a younger man, he traveled widely. Full of insight into many areas of life, he was creative and creating until the end. Most of all, he loved his family -- his wife, children (Sean, Darren, and Simone), their spouses (Vanessa and Cathy) and three grandchildren (Samuel, Teddy, and Nathaniel), all of whom survive him. Kelvin's spirit and legacy will continue to inspire them, and all who had the opportunity to meet him in his long life. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Kelvin's name to either The Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Urban Cat League.