CHARLES EAMES
View Similar Items
CHARLES EAMES
About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 26.5 in (67.31 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1945/1996
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U1009188474450
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.
- Pair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar Pull-Up Lounge ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar pull-up lounge chairs. Model 971 Jansus line collection. Wormley's Boutique line. Original chocolate brown leather with...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Roger Lee Sprunger for Dunbar Pair of Cantilever Lounge ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Roger SprungerLocated in Chicago, ILRoger Lee Sprunger for Dunbar pair of cantilever lounge chairs, model 480, oakwood base structures, oil finish, reupholstered with spinney beck leather. Spru...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Maruni Mokko of Japan Folding Sling ChairsBy MaruniLocated in Chicago, ILMaruni Mokko of Japan folding sling chairs, Quarter sawn oak frame with original brown nylon mesh. Original very good condition. Label on unde...Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$9,240 / set - Pair of Warren McArthur Lounge ChairsBy Warren McArthurLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Warren McArthur lounge chairs, model 1031-A, Machine-made anodized aluminum with rubber feet. Upholstered with great plains cotton-poly fabric. Frames have natural oxidation...Category
Vintage 1930s American Machine Age Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
$12,075 / set - Early Charles Eames Dining SetBy Charles Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Chicago, ILEarly Charles Eames Dining Set, This set consists of Four DCW Dining Chairs in Birchwood and Rare DCW-1 Walnut Dining Table. Tables measures; 29¼ h × 54 w × 34 d in Chairs measures: ...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsBirch, Walnut
$9,500 / set - Luigi Caccia Dominioni 'Ambrosianeum" High-Back Lounge ChairsBy AzucenaLocated in Chicago, ILLuigi Caccia Dominioni "Ambrosianeum" high-back lounge chairs for Azucena, reupholstered with high pile mohair. Solid walnut legs and inset notched handles are decorative and functio...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Charles and Ray Eames DCW for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Belmont, MADCW by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in original condition. Legs attached with 5/2/4 screw configuration. Original patina.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
$1,900 Sale Price24% Off - Charles and Ray Eames, LCW Lounge Chair, circa 1960By Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Belmont, MACharles and Ray Eames. Iconic LCW lounge chair in black stained plywood, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, Manufactured by Evans / Herman Miller. The veneer and chair is in good o...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Charles & Ray Eames Black Original Plywood Group LCM Chair for Vitra, 1999By Vitra, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in The Hague, NLLounge chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra, 1999. The Vitra LCM Chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, is the result of years of experiment...Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Early Eames LCW with Evans LabelBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Oklahoma City, OKAn early iconic design. The LCW designed by Charles and Ray Eames manufactured by Evans for Herman Miller. This piece is being sold in found condition with original Evans labeling...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Eames Lounge Chair Metal 'LCM'By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in New York, NYIconic pair of Eames for Herman Miller LCM's in later orange and black paint finish. These chairs are structurally sound and sturdy, both have a later, but not new, orange paint surf...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$2,600 / set - Eames LCM Lounge Chair, Herman Miller, USA, 1950sBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in London, GBAn Eames LCM lounge chair, Herman Miller, USA, 1950s. Ash plywood, chrome-plated steel and original rubber feet caps. With manufacturers label. ...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
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.