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. The Eameses were lovers of folk craft who had a genius for making highly original chairs, tables, case pieces and other furniture using traditional materials and forms.
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 Eames (1907–78) studied architecture and industrial design. Ray Eames (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 — vintage Eames splints 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 Eames chair, 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 original Eames furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes chairs, tables, case pieces and other items.
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Light Suspension 6 Spheres Lamp by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Light Suspension 6 Spheres Lamp by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of Mod...
Aluminum
Charles And Ray Eames Set of Two Dot Pattern Light Appliques Spheres by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Set of Two Dot Pattern Light Appliques Spheres by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of ...
Aluminum
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Light Suspension 6 Spheres Lamp by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Light Suspension 6 Spheres Lamp by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of Mod...
Aluminum
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy White 120 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Lamp Manufactured by Cassina (Italy) Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy White 120 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina EXPLOSION OF LIGHT Designed in 1949, a product...
Metal
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Aluminium 120 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Lamp Manufactured by Cassina (Italy) Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Aluminium 120 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina EXPLOSION OF LIGHT Designed in 1949, a pro...
Metal
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Black Light Applique 6 Spheres Lamp by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Black Light Applique 6 Spheres Lamp by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of...
Aluminum
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Black Pendant Lamp by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Lamp Manufactured by Cassina (Italy) EXPLOSION OF LIGHT Designed in 1949, a product of the genius of Charles and Ray Eames,...
Metal
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy White 100 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Lamp Manufactured by Cassina (Italy) Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy White 100 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina EXPLOSION OF LIGHT Designed in 1949, a product...
Metal
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Black Light Applique 4 Spheres Lamp by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern Black Light Applique 4 Spheres Lamp by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of...
Aluminum
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern White Light Applique 4 Spheres Lamp by Cassina
By Cassina, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Dot Pattern White Light Applique 4 Spheres Lamp by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of...
Aluminum
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Aluminium 100 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Lamp Manufactured by Cassina (Italy) Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Aluminium 100 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina EXPLOSION OF LIGHT Designed in 1949, a pro...
Metal
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Black 120 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Lamp Manufactured by Cassina (Italy) Charles and Ray Eames Galaxy Black 120 cm Pendant Lamp by Cassina EXPLOSION OF LIGHT Designed in 1949, a product...
Metal
$22,000 / set
H 57.5 in Dm 12 in
Set of Two "Febo" Floor Lamps in Glass and Marble by Roberto Pamio for Leucos
By Leucos, Roberto Pamio, Roberto Pamio & Renato Toso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Set of two "Febo" floor lamps designed by Roberto Pamio and Renato Toso for Leucos - scarcely seen design due to its limited production. (ca. 1970s, Italy). The floor lamp, the most ...
Marble, Brass
$582Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 23.63 in Dm 6.7 in
Artistic Suspension 1 Light, Sphere White Murano Glass Desafinado by Multiforme
By Multiforme
Located in Venezia, Veneto
Artistic suspension lamp, glass sphere in white Murano glass. Elegant and unmistakable, suggestive and poetical, soft and delicate are some of the adjectives that can be used to des...
Blown Glass
$727 / item
H 23.63 in Dm 6.7 in
Artistic suspension 1 light, sphere gold Murano glass Desafinado by Multiforme
By Multiforme
Located in Venezia, Veneto
Artistic suspension lamp, glass sphere in gold Murano glass. Elegant and unmistakable, suggestive and poetical, soft and delicate are some of the adjectives that can be used to desc...
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
$3,300 / item
H 1.97 in W 1.97 in D 59.06 in
Ferrão Pendant Lamp, 150cm, by Rain, Contemporary Lamp, Aluminium, Polished
By RAIN
Located in Sao Paulo, SP
The Ferrão Lamps are composed of a metallic body with a reduced diameter and sharp tips, referring to the image of a sting. The spike-shaped ends give the pieces tension, but also se...
Aluminum
Pea Head Lamp in Aluminium by Six Dots Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Pea Head Lamp in Aluminium by Six Dots Design. Unique Piece. Dimensions: W 30 x D 50 x H 160 cm. Materials: Raw aluminum. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If so...
Aluminum
$4,850
H 51.19 in W 11.82 in D 11.82 in
Hero Lamp by Panorammma, Brass-Plated Stainless Steel, Stone Sphere, Sculptural
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Hero Lamp is a sculptural floor lamp virtuously crafted in stainless steel with a brass plated finish which holds a stone globe that gives off a warm candle-like light. This unique...
Steel, Stainless Steel
Set of Two Murano Floor Lamps
Located in Paris, FR
Murano floor lamp set of 2 in the style of Art Deco, in hand-crafted real Murano glass. Exceptional and rare piece. Unit Price: 19500,00€ and set of 2 Price: 39000,00€. Availability ...
Brass
French Carved Wood Floor Lamp and Table by Charles Dudouyt
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Wonderful carved wood floor lamp and table by Charles Dudouyt from France, 1940s. Carved wood stem with table detail on circular base. Original finish shows nice age and patina. Newl...
Linen, Wood
$10,120 / item
H 55.12 in Dm 19.69 in
Alabaster Half Spheres Vertical Suspension by Glustin Luminaires
By Glustin Creation
Located in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, IDF
Three alabaster half spheres of different sizes are vertically stacked on each other with a brass stem. Each bowl has several light sources inside. Original design by Glustin L...
Alabaster, Brass
Quartz Horizontal 120 Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz horizontal 120 pendant lamp by Aver Signed by Waldir Junior Dimensions: D 5 x W 124 x H 8 cm Materials: Aluminum, antique Bronze finish. Natural White Quartz and Smoky Quart...
Quartz, Aluminum
Quartz Horizontal 120 Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz Horizontal 120 pendant lamp by Aver Signed by Waldir Junior Dimensions: D 5 x W 124 x H 30 cm Materials: Aluminum, antique Bronze finish. Natural White Quartz and Smoky Quartz. Lighting: 01 x LED 20W 1600 lumens. Available Finishes: Silver Veneer, Aged Silver Veneer, Gold Veneer, Aged Gold Veneer, Copper Veneer, Aged Copper Veneer, Aged Gold Patina, Antique Patina. Also available in size Small (W 90 cm). All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA it will be wired for the USA for instance. A new collection of lamps was signed by Waldir Junior for Aver Metais...
Quartz, Aluminum
Suspension Light by Stilnovo
By Stilnovo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Suspension Light by Stilnovo. Manufactured in Italy, circa 1950's. Brass, original canopy, custom brass ceiling plate. Wired for U.S. stan...
Brass
$4,850
H 51.19 in W 11.82 in D 11.82 in
Hero Lamp by Panorammma, Stainless Steel & Acrylic Sphere, Sculptural Floor Lamp
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Hero Lamp is a sculptural floor lamp virtuously crafted in stainless steel which holds a lightly tinted acrylic globe that gives off a warm candle-like light. This unique light pie...
Steel, Stainless Steel
$3,960 / item
H 78.75 in Dm 11.82 in
Soap Sphere, Melogranoblu, Suspension Lamp, Metallized Glass, Brushed Brass
Located in Grassobbio, IT
Soap collection plays with the revelatory power of light. The glass sculpture inside shows itself only when the light, as if by magic, transforms the external mirrored...
Brass
$3,020 / item
H 152.7 in Dm 42.9 in
Charles Williams Fontana Arte Amax Suspension Lamp, Metal and Polyethylene, 2003
By Fontana Arte, Charles Williams
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Designed in 2003 by Charles Williams for Fontana Arte, the Amax suspension lamp is an extra-large interpretation of the Classic FontanaArte lampshade. Amax is a family of suspension ...
Metal, Chrome