Ray Charles Eames Herman Miller Padded Arm Shell Chairs Alexander Girard a Pair
About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer),Herman Miller (Cabinetmaker)
- Attributed to:Alexander Girard (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)Depth: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Seat Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1972
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. The shell chairs are in very good condition. There is one pinhole in each of the seats. One shock mount has been replaced. The aluminum will be professionally cleaned when purchased.
- Seller Location:Forest Grove, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7646235612132
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Eames and Ray Eames were the embodiment of the inventiveness, energy and optimism at the heart of mid-century modern American design, and have been recognized as the most influential designers of the 20th century.
As furniture designers, filmmakers, artists, textile and graphic designers and even toy and puzzle makers, the Eameses were a visionary and effective force for the notion that design should be an agent of positive change. They are the happy, ever-curious, ever-adventurous faces of modernism.
Charles (1907–78) studied architecture and industrial design. Ray (née Beatrice Alexandra Kaiser, 1912–88) was an artist, who studied under the Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. They met in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit (the legendary institution where Charles also met his frequent collaborator Eero Saarinen and the artist and designer Harry Bertoia) and married the next year.
His technical skills and her artistic flair were wonderfully complementary. They moved to Los Angeles in 1941, where Charles worked on set design for MGM. In the evenings at their apartment, they experimented with molded plywood using a handmade heat-and-pressurization device they called the “Kazam!” machine. The next year, they won a contract from the U.S. Navy for lightweight plywood leg splints for wounded servicemen — they are coveted collectibles today; more so those that Ray used to make sculptures.
The Navy contract allowed Charles to open a professional studio, and the attention-grabbing plywood furniture the firm produced prompted George Nelson, the director of design of the furniture-maker Herman Miller Inc., to enlist Charles and (by association, if not by contract) Ray in 1946. Some of the first Eames items to emerge from Herman Miller are now classics: the LCW, or Lounge Chair Wood, and the DCM, or Dining Chair Metal, supported by tubular steel.
The Eameses eagerly embraced new technology and materials, and one of their peculiar talents was to imbue their supremely modern design with references to folk traditions. Their Wire chair group of the 1950s, for example, was inspired by basket weaving techniques. The populist notion of “good design for all” drove their molded fiberglass chair series that same decade, and also produced the organic-form, ever-delightful La Chaise. In 1956 the Eames lounge chair and ottoman appeared — the supremely comfortable plywood-base-and-leather-upholstery creation that will likely live in homes as long as there are people with good taste and sense.
Charles Eames once said, “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” For very good collectors and thoughtful interior designers, a piece of design by the Eameses, the closer produced to original conception the better, is almost de rigueur — for its beauty and comfort, and not least as a tribute to the creative legacy and enduring influence of Charles and Ray Eames.
The collection of original Eames furniture on 1stDibs includes chairs, tables, case pieces and other items.
Herman Miller
No other business of its kind did more than the Herman Miller Furniture Company to introduce modern design into American homes. Working with legendary designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Alexander Girard, the Zeeland, Michigan-based firm fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style. In doing so, Herman Miller produced some of the most beautiful, iconic and, one can even say, noblest chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture ever.
Founded in 1923, Herman Miller was originally known for grand historicist bedroom suites: heavily ornamented wood furniture that appealed to a high-minded, wealthier clientele. The company — named for its chief financial backer — began to suffer in the early 1930s as the Great Depression hit, and D.J. De Pree, the company’s CEO, feared bankruptcy. In 1932, aid came in the form of Gilbert Rohde, a self-taught furniture designer who had traveled widely in Europe, absorbing details of the Art Deco movement and other modernist influences. After persuading De Pree that the growing middle class required smaller, lighter household furnishings, Rohde set a new course for Herman Miller, creating sleek chairs, tables and cabinetry that were the essence of the Streamline Moderne style.
Rohde died suddenly in 1944. The following year, De Pree turned to George Nelson, an architect who had written widely about modern furniture design. Under Nelson’s leadership, Herman Miller would embrace new technologies and materials and audacious biomorphic forms.
Some of the pieces the company produced are now emblems of 20th century American design, including the Eames lounge chair and ottoman and Nelson’s Marshmallow sofa and Coconut chair. Such instantly recognizable furnishings have become timeless — staples of a modernist décor; striking, offbeat notes in traditional environments.
Find a range of vintage Herman Miller office chairs, desks, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Doylestown, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Charles & Ray Eames Herman Miller Zenith Plastics LAX Rope Edge X Base ArmchairBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Forest Grove, PAA fabulous Charles & Ray Eames transitional armchair produced by Herman Miller with Zenith Plastics. The salmon colored LAX chair features a rope edge, X base, large shock mounts, bo...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Charles & Ray Eames Herman Miller Walnut Segmented Base Racetrack Dining TableBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Forest Grove, PAEight foot long walnut dining / conference table designed by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured by Herman Miller. Stamped "64128" and signed with the " double ring black metal" E...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Charles Ray Eames Evans Plywood Company CTW1 OTW Oblong Table Wood Walnut BirchBy Charles and Ray Eames, Evans Products CompanyLocated in Forest Grove, PAA rare Charles and Ray Eames CTW1 coffee table. An early version of the OTW (Oblong Table Wood) coffee table. The CTW1 was introduced in the 1940s and was first produced by Evans Ply...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsPlywood
- Paul McCobb Calvin Mid-Century Modern Sculpted Walnut Armchair Cane SeatBy Paul McCobbLocated in Forest Grove, PAA fabulous 1950s Paul McCobb for Calvin Furniture walnut armchair. Fully marked. Meticulously crafted. Professionally restored. A great design and a really beautiful chair...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCane, Walnut
- Harvey Probber Velvet Slipper Lounge Chairs - a PairBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Forest Grove, PAElegant pair of Harvey Probber slipper lounge chairs. Freshly upholstered in a salmon colored velvet. Brass handle detail located at the top of the back. Original finish to the waln...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Slipper Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Walnut Brunswick Walnut Plywood Armchairs Eames DCW Jean Prouve - a Set of 4By Brunswick Co.Located in Forest Grove, PAA gorgeous set of four Mid Century walnut armchairs by Brunswick styled after the iconic designs of Charles and Ray Eames and the French designer Jean Prouvé. Although Brunswick is...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Charles and Ray Eames Padded Arm Shell Chairs, Two-Tone /Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic pair of Mid-Century Modern padded arm shell chairs,Designed by Charles and Ray Eames, for Herman Miller. Beautiful two-tone, chairs are in really ni...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Ea 216 Soft Pad Desk Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1970sBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Lasne, BELeather chair with aluminum base and wheels. Stamped Herman Miller under the seat. The chair turns on itself and reclines. Seat height: 53 cm. Wear due to time and age.Category
Vintage 1970s Central American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk...
MaterialsAluminum
- Vintage Alexander Girard Side Chair for Herman MillerBy Alexander Girard, Herman MillerLocated in Pasadena, TXA vintage Alexander Girard armchair. The chair is upholstered in a olive color fabric. The classic color tone allow for the armchair to be a g...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Charles and Ray Eames DAX chair by Herman Miller, 70sBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Athens, AttikiThe fully upholstered DAX chair is part of the Eames plastic armchairs collection, first presented as part of a New York Moma competition. An iconic piece o...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Set of 6 Ray & Charles Eames Side Chairs in Alexander Girard for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Berlin, DESet of 6 Original condition Ray & Charles Eames Side Chairs in Fiberglass, USA - 1970s. Upholstered in a Alexander Girard mill mosaic diamond fabric. Fair Condition. Ray and Char...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- EA217 black Soft Pad Chairs by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman miller, 1970s, SetBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Lasne, BEBlack leather chair with aluminium base and wheels. Swivels on itself and is height-adjustable. Minimum seat height 47 cm, maximum seat height 54 cm. Maximum total height of the chai...Category
Vintage 1970s Central American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk...
MaterialsAluminum
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
The prolific manufacturer has partnered with many of the world’s top designers since opening its doors in 1923. Here are some of the company’s greatest hits, which helped transform the American home and office.