Claire Kahn

1955 - 2023

Claire Kahn
October 4, 1955 - August 15, 2023
Claire Ruth Kahn was a gifted artist and designer. Her work was multidimensional and included the use of a broad range of form, scale, material and technique.
She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, the daughter of Matt Kahn, Professor of Art at Stanford and Lyda Kahn, an accomplished designer and weaver. She grew up surrounded by art and design. Pumpkin carving at Halloween and egg painting at Easter were early opportunities for her to develop her creative and playful spirit. Agates and shells collected at local beaches became subjects of drawings, paintings, and collages. She loved gifting these pieces to family and friends.
Claire attended Gunn High School and graduated from Stanford University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Design. She was the recipient of the prestigious Humanities Award.
Following her graduation from Stanford, she joined the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in San Francisco, and became one of the firm's top designers. Among her favorite projects from these years were San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall and Miami's Southeast Financial Center.
In 1985 Claire joined the fountain design firm WET as Executive Designer. Over the following years, she designed numerous fountains at sites worldwide. These included the Barcelona World Trade Center, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and most notably, The Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas. She approached fountain design as a form of dance and was passionate about choreographing water to music.
From childhood she and her brother, Ira, travelled extensively with their parents. During these years she developed a lasting passion for collecting unique art and artifacts. She had a special love for Florence and Tuscany, and treasured time spent in Holland with her Dutch relatives.
With her beloved cat Nino, Claire moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2016. In her new home and studio she focused on creating extraordinary necklaces and bracelets. She is renowned for her brilliant use of texture, pattern and color. Her work interweaves multi-colored Japanese glass beads, fine metals, gems and other stones in a precise crochet technique.
Claire was beloved for her generous spirit. She loved to entertain and opened her home to friends and colleagues from around the world.
She was married to landscape architect Dan Tuttle who predeceased her. She is survived by her brother Ira Elliot Kahn.
A donation in her name to the New Mexico Wildlife Center would be deeply appreciated.
New Mexico Wildlife Center
19 Wheat Street
Espanola, NM 89732
(505) 753-9505
https://newmexicowildlifecenter.org