Organic Modern Eames La Chaise
View Similar Items
Organic Modern Eames La Chaise
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 60 in (152.4 cm)Depth: 35 in (88.9 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Style:Organic Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1998
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. The chair is structurally sound and sturdy. No visible cracks or splits to the fiberglass. Minor wear to the finish on the wood base and a minor seam separation. Chrome is in very good condition.
- Seller Location:Garnerville, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: ARJM8.21.19.11stDibs: LU1236215872252
Charles Eames
The legacy of Charles Eames looms large in design. In partnership with his wife, Ray, Charles was at the forefront of pioneering innovation in the use of molded plywood for furniture making. The Eameses’ cheerful and inviting work has endured among the most important advancements in the history of 20th-century design.
Together, visionary mid-century modern duo Charles and Ray Eames introduced a wide range of renowned furniture to the postwar market, including iconic designs such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman, the wildly colorful birch plywood-and-plastic-laminate Eames storage unit, the Eames compact sofa and more. The designers were trailblazers in molded plywood furniture and brought lively organic form to metal and plastic.
Charles Eames studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. He traveled to Mexico and Europe, and experienced firsthand the work of designer-architects Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1930, upon returning to Missouri, Eames opened an architecture practice with Charles M. Gray but later moved to Michigan in 1938. He received a fellowship at Cranbrook Academy of Art, which would become a breeding ground for the stars of mid-century design. Eames continued his architecture studies at Cranbrook and also taught in the design department.
In 1940, Eames met his future wife, artist and designer Beatrice Alexandra "Ray" Kaiser, who was studying at Cranbrook under Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. Charles teamed up with another Cranbrook instructor, Finnish-American designer Eero Saarinen, to explore the possibilities of plywood for use in furniture design.
With support from Ray, Charles and Eero created chairs and case pieces and submitted them to the “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City — among them was the groundbreaking organic Side chair made of molded plywood with maple legs. It was upholstered by Heywood-Wakefield. This exhibition is considered critical by many to the popularization of what is known as mid-century modernism. Eames and Saarinen won first place for their submissions to the competition.
Charles and Ray were married in 1941 and soon after moved to Los Angeles, California, and lived in an apartment building designed by architect Richard Neutra. Charles worked on set design at MGM, and at night, in a humble workshop they established in the guest bedroom, he and Ray experimented with molded plywood on a homemade device they called the “Kazaam!” machine. In 1942, the couple won a U.S. Navy contract to create molded plywood leg splints that would be used to support wartime medical efforts. Soon, the Evans Product Company was making the splints and the Eameses opened the famed Eames Office and studio.
The Eameses’ innovative use of wire framing, molded plywood and applied fabrics caught the attention of many notable figures in interior design and architecture, including George Nelson, director of design at Herman Miller, a now-legendary modern furniture manufacturer. The company enlisted the Eameses’ talents and was eventually home to the couple’s classic pieces such as the Eames DCW chair and the DCM chair.
Find an extensive array of vintage Charles Eames seating, tables and case pieces on 1stDibs.
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.
- Charles Eames for Herman Miller DSX Shell ChairBy Herman Miller, Ray Eames, Charles Eames, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Garnerville, NYCharles Eames for Herman Miller fiberglass DSX shell chair. Circa 1970. Retains all it's plastic glides. Shock mounts are in good condition with no visible drying or cracking. Struct...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Steel
$516 Sale Price20% Off - 1st Generation Eames Dkr-2 Wire Eiffel Tower ChairBy Charles Eames, Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Garnerville, NYFirst generation Eames DKR-2 Eiffel Tower base side chair with the distinct splayed feet and the black base (which was only released in the early version). ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$1,480 Sale Price20% Off - 1970s Organic Modern Root Throne ChairLocated in Garnerville, NYExceptional and majestic carved root throne chair. This amazing example of a wonderful old growth Organic Modern furniture making. Good overall condition with the proper amount of w...Category
Vintage 1970s American Organic Modern Wingback Chairs
MaterialsMaple
$3,080 Sale Price20% Off - Mid-Century Modern Streamlined Bucket ChairsBy Adrian Pearsall, Craft Associates Inc., Craft AssociatesLocated in Garnerville, NYA wonderful pair of streamlined Mid-Century Modern lounge chairs. Re-upholstered in a dark gray nubby fabric. Featuring a cozy contoured shape, bow tie stretcher base with tapered wo...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Ash
$3,080 Sale Price20% Off - Viko Baumritter Mid-Century Modern Spindle Back ArmchairBy Baumritter, Viko BaumritterLocated in Garnerville, NYViko Baumritter flat paddle arm spindle back Mid-Century Modern armchair. subtle design features include the contoured flat paddle arm, angular spindle back, and the nicely shaped and tapered dowel legs. Freshly upholstered a Nanolux gray fabric and strapped with Pirelli rubber strapping. New cushion foam. Great profile and lines. Circa 1960. Burn in stamp on the front portion of the seat's wood frame, Furniture by Baumritter...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Elm, Walnut
$1,508 Sale Price20% Off - Angular Mid Century Modern Slant Arm Lounge ChairBy Dunbar Furniture, Kroehler Mfg. Co.Located in Garnerville, NYA very sexy chair! Compact and angular, but due to the lines and subtle curves it gives the appearance of a much larger chair. A chair with, most importantl...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsBrass
$2,360 Sale Price20% Off
- Vintage Eames Vitra La Chaise Chair, Original, Fiberglass First Generation, 1992By Vitra, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Brooklyn, NYCharles and Ray designed the iconic "La Chaise" lounge chair for The Museum of Modern Art’s 1948 International Competition for Furniture Design. Its name references both its functio...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
$18,460 Sale Price35% Off - Modern Chaise Slipper ChairLocated in Brooklyn, NYA unique chaise slipper chair featuring a ruffled back and skirt. The top itself has a fixed cushion and cannot be removed. Please confirm item location...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsUpholstery
$1,680 Sale Price30% Off - Wooly Modern Chaise LoungeLocated in Greenwich, CTA lounge chair hand built by us in Norwalk, Connecticut upholstered in a wooly synthetic cotton fabric. This piece features a super comfortable sloping design for ultimate relaxation...Category
2010s American Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsWool, Synthetic, Faux Leather
$7,080 / item - Blue Velvet Modern Memphis Chaise LoungeBy Memphis MilanoLocated in Antwerp, BEPostmodern design in Memphis style chaise lounge, couche, settee, daybed and loveseat! Steel chrome legs, upholstery blue velvet with aubergine spots and 1980s feathers print motif c...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel, Chrome
$1,323 Sale Price / item62% Off - La Chaise by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra. Rare First Generation ConstructionBy Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in Kansas City, MOEarly first generation Eames La Chaise. The first generation chairs were constructed with a double layer of fiberglass making the piece quite substantial, durable and heavy weight. ...Category
1990s German Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsChrome
- 2005 La Chaise Lounge Chair by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale are two (sold separately) authentic La Chaise lounge chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra. These were produced circa 2005 and carry original Vitra labels. This d...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsFiberglass
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.