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.
$2,600 / set
Pair of Eames DCM Herman Miller Dining Chairs
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Eames designed DCM (Dining Chair Metal). Chairs This pair of chairs are currently in later, but not new, orange paint finish, the metal frames are also in later black paint f...
Metal
Original La Fonda Stuhl Vitra Charles Eames Fiberglas orange
By Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten einen wunderschönen, original La Fonda Stuhl mit authentischer Patina von Vitra aus den späten 1980er Jahren zum Verkauf an. Der Entwurf stammt von Charles & Ray Eames und...
Steel, Chrome
Set of Three Vintage Swiveling Chairs by Eames for Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 3 Vintage Swiveling chairs by Eames for Herman Miller. One black, one gray and one dark yellow.
Steel
Model EA 105 Aluminium Chairs by Eames for Herman Miller, 1970s
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Radomsko, Województwo łódzkie
The Aluminium Chair EA 105, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1958, is an icon of modern design and craftsmanship. This chair perfectly blends timeless elegance with exceptional c...
Aluminum
Eames Time Life Chair in Grey Leather for Herman Miller, 1980s
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Classic Eames Time Life chair for Herman Miller in light grey leather with a polished aluminum frame and legs made in Los Angeles, CA. Originally designed in 1960 by Charles and Ray Eames for use in the lobby of the Time Life building in New York. Recently re-upholstered in gray leather, in-keeping with the color and integrity of other Time-life models. Some slight blemishes to the aluminum frame in-keeping with age. Chair's height and recline is fully adjustable and also swivels 360 degrees. Timeless chair. In 1972, the Time-life chair made the news when notoriously fussy chess genius Bobby Fischer included this chair among his many demands for his legendary 1972 world championship match with Russian master...
Aluminum
Model EA 116 Chair by Eames for Herman Miller, 1960's
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Oud Beijerland, NL
Very nice original EA116 Chairs, early edition. These swivel chairs are designed by Charles and Ray Eames and fabricated by Herman Miller in the 60's. They have the original grey "H...
Metal
Set of Three Vintage Swiveling Chairs by Eames for Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 3 Vintage Swiveling Chairs by Eames for Herman Miller. One black, one gray and one dark yellow.
Steel
Early Red Aniline Dyed Eames LCM "Lounge Chair Metal", Signed with Evans Label
By Charles and Ray Eames, Evans Products Company
Located in Kansas City, MO
Very early Charles Eames and Ray Eames LCM, for Evans Products Company, Venice, CA, circa 1945. Red aniline-dyed molded plywood, polished c...
Chrome
1950 Eames PAW Herman Miller Zenith Dowel Leg Chair Rope Edge Lemon Yellow
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Charles and Ray Eames paw walnut dowel leg fiberglass swivel armchair for Zenith Plastics / Herman Miller Inc. A 1st generation/production rope edge fiberglass armchair example. Fr...
Steel
DSS chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Vitra, 1960s
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Milano, IT
Chair, fiberglass, chrome-plated metal. Fair condition.
Metal
Set of 5 Model EA 105 Chairs by Eames for Herman Miller, 1970's
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Oud Beijerland, NL
Very nice set of 5 original EA105 Chairs. These swivel chairs are designed by Charles and Ray Eames and fabricated by Herman Miller in the 70's. They have the original green "Hopsak...
Metal
German postmodern black wooden chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra, 2000s
By Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra
Located in MIlano, IT
German postmodern black wooden chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra, 2000s Pair of chairs model DCM in black wood. The seat and back are rounded with enveloping sides, the struc...
Metal
Set of Four Charles and Ray Eames DKW-1 Chairs for Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Early set of four wire frame chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. The chairs feature greige marled fabric seat covers over black metal frames. Each chair rests on four ...
Metal
Original 5er Set Vitra Charles & Ray Eames Side chair Stuhl grau
By Vitra, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten ein wunderschönes 5er Set Vitra "Side chairs" zum Verkauf an. Der Entwurf stammt von Charles & Ray Eames und gilt bis heute als wahrer Designklassiker. Zustand: Guter...
Metal
3er Set Asserbo Stühle Borge Morgensen Roland Wilhelmsson
By Vitra, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten ein wunderschönes 3er Set Vintage Stühle von Borge Morgensen & Söner aus den 1970er Jahren zum Verkauf an. Der Entwurf "Asserbo" stammt von Børge Mogensen & Roland...
Steel, Chrome
$842Sale Price|20% Off
“Dax” Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Vitra, Italy, 1970
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Torino, IT
“Dax” Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Vitra, Italy, 1970 Additional information: Country of Manufacture – Italy Design Period – 1970 Production Period – 1970 Style – Midcentury / I...
Fiberglass