It’s been more than 80 years since Charles and Ray Eames opened their workshop, the Eames Office, in 1941, shortly after they married, and yet design lovers the world over are still transfixed by their work. Now, the Eames Office is auctioning roughly 30 rare pieces on the Dutch online auction platform Catawiki, according to Artnet. Spanning toy designs, brochures, posters, clothing and, of course, furniture, the sale demonstrates the stunning breadth of the studio’s work, not to mention how well its pieces have held up.
“Eames furniture” most often brings to mind the couple’s iconic lounge chair and ottoman, which debuted in 1956 and has been a staple of corner offices and home libraries ever since. But they designed a plethora of pieces that are essential to our understanding of mid-century modern design.
An index of the Eames’s brilliance, after all, is how many different contexts their creations are suitable for. Their Tandem Sling seating, for instance, is a mainstay of airport design. They also crafted office furniture, like conference tables, available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Among their designs for the home, their wire chairs with bikini pads, produced by Herman Miller, still feel lively, while the RAR rocking chair is a favorite B-side for many Eames lovers.
Part of numerous permanent collections, the Eames’s work has been displayed in a variety of special exhibitions this year across the country, including “Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s” at the Philadelphia Art Museum earlier this year. Still on view are MoMA’s “Pirouette,” and “Past as Prologue: The Last Decade of Furniture Design by Ray and Charles Eames (1968–1978)” at the Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco. Decades have passed, but we’re still learning from this talented couple.
