Vintage Eames La Fonda Chair for Herman Miller
View Similar Items
Vintage Eames La Fonda Chair for Herman Miller
About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Design:La Fonda ArmchairLa Fonda Series
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 25 in (63.5 cm)Seat Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1965
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. The original vinyl upholstery was replaced with new seat padding and soft vinyl material. The original hard binding trim is still attached.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8154232629812
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.
- Set of 2 - Vintage Wood Folding ChairsLocated in Brooklyn, NYSet of 2 - Vintage 90s black painted wood folding chairs. Made in Thailand. Normal vintage wear. 35.5” chair height 19” seat height 16” width 19...Category
1990s Thai Chairs
MaterialsWood
$750 / set - Vintage Blown Glass VaseLocated in Brooklyn, NYLarge vintage blown glass vase with blue cane. In the style of Murano blown glass but no manufacturer sticker. No chips or cracks.Category
Vintage 1970s Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Vintage Robert Sonneman Table LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage 70s Robert Sonneman lucite and chrome table lamp. Has a swiveling lamp head to adjust angle of light. Normal wear for age. Has original Sonneman sticker. Includes bulbCategory
Vintage 1970s Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Vintage Carrara Marble End TableLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage Carrara marble side table. Could also be used as coffee table or nightstand. No chips or cracks in the marble. Normal vintage wear. There are a few small chips in the polyure...Category
1990s Italian Side Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Vintage Burl Wood Dining TableLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage pedestal dining table. Burl wood veneer top with chrome pedestal base that sits in an aluminum stand. Minimal wear. Some very small knicks in the edge of the table top, norma...Category
Vintage 1970s American Dining Room Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Vintage Wood and Rush Counter StoolLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage 1960s wood counter height stool with woven rush seat and cylinder legs. Normal vintage wear. Small marks on woodCategory
Vintage 1960s Stools
MaterialsRush, Wood
- La Fonda Arm Chair by Eames for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Centreville, VAThis arm chair is one of two new fiberglass chairs Charles and Ray Eames designed in 1961, inspired by request from Alexander Girard, who needed seating for his new Manhattan restaurant, La Fonda Del Sol. Some collectors call these “La Fonda” chairs after the restaurant where they were first installed. Because Girard wanted chairs with seat backs no higher than dining table tops, Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames La Fonda Arm Chair...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- La Fonda Arm Chair by Eames for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Centreville, VAThis arm chair is one of two new fiberglass chairs Charles and Ray Eames designed in 1961, inspired by request from Alexander Girard, who needed seating for his new Manhattan restaurant, La Fonda Del Sol. Some collectors call these “La Fonda” chairs after the restaurant where they were first installed. Because Girard wanted chairs with seat backs no higher than dining table tops, Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames La Fonda Arm Chair...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- La Fonda Chairs by Eames for Herman Miller with Peter Max FabricBy Herman MillerLocated in Phoenix, AZPair of La Fonda chairs by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller circa mid 1960s. These seldom seen examples have white powder coated La Fonda bases and have been upholstered in a playful psychedelic dead stock Peter Max fabric...Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Eames Office / Alexander Girard La Fonda Side Chair For Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Doraville, GAA "La Fonda" side chair designed in collaboration with the Eames Office and Alexander Girard. This style chair was designed for the La Fonda del Sol restaurant, which was designed b...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller La Fonda Chairs, PairBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in SAINT LOUIS, MOWe adore the La Fonda design! These chairs were commissioned by Alexander Girard for a Mexican restaurant in the Time Life Building in New York that opened in 1961. To keep with the tradition, we reupholstered the chairs in the same Alexander Girard Checker...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Fiberglass
- Mid Century Eames La Fonda Chairs by Herman Miller Newly Upholstered - PairBy Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Chicago, ILMid Century Modern Eames La Fonda Chairs by Herman Miller Newly Upholstered in Zebra Print Cow Hide - Pair Rare pair of mid century modern Eames for Herman Miller chairs on an alum...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
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.