Eileen Gray
Designer, artist and architect Eileen Gray was one of the most fascinating creative figures of the 20th century. Her body of work includes lustrous lacquered pieces — her Dragons chair set an auction record for modern furniture ($28 million) at the 2009 sale of the Yves Saint Laurent estate — and sleek chrome furnishings that rival the work of Le Corbusier and the members of the Bauhaus as exemplars of pure, modernist design.
The independent and unconventional daughter of Irish landed gentry, Gray studied painting at London’s Slade School of Fine Art in her early twenties before moving to Paris in 1906 to pursue her artistic dreams. Gray had become captivated by lacquerware after seeing an exhibit in the Victoria & Albert Museum, and in Paris persuaded an expatriate Japanese master of the painstaking process, Seizo Sugawara, to teach her. Within a few years, Gray had become known among the cognoscenti for her sculptural lacquered furnishings, which she incorporated into the homes of interior design clients.
Gray was ever evolving as a designer. By the early 1920s she was creating geometric works that embodied the essence of Art Deco and the nascent modernist design movement. Some pieces — such as her Bricks screen, an assemblage of pivoting rectangular panels — employ the planar forms favored by Gerrit Rietveld and other De Stijl architects of the Netherlands. Others feature the tubular chrome framing used by Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. These include the Bibendum chair — named for the resemblance of its semicircular back and armrest to the character known in English as the Michelin Man — and the adjustable E 1027 side table, conceived in 1927 for the interiors of a stark white villa she designed for herself in the South of France.
Never a self-promoter, Gray drifted out of the limelight in the 1930s. Interest in her work was revived in the early ’70s, however, when the estates of her early clients came to auction. Her original lacquer pieces are the most coveted, but, as the sale of the Dragons chair shows, are rare and extremely expensive.
None of Gray’s designs were made in large numbers until, a few years before her death, she granted a production license. These pieces range in price from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on furniture type and condition. Gray’s work has become iconic of practical and elegant modernist design. Yet, as you will see on 1stDibs, many of her creations have a simplicity that makes them welcome even in a traditional setting.
| Average Sold Price |
| $1,959 |
| Styles |
| Materials |
| Related Creators |
1920s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Eileen Gray
Steel
1920s German Bauhaus Vintage Eileen Gray
Metal, Chrome
1990s German Bauhaus Eileen Gray
Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Art Deco Eileen Gray
Leather, Wood
1980s French Modern Vintage Eileen Gray
Metal
1920s French Modern Vintage Eileen Gray
Leather, Foam, Wood, Lacquer
1920s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Eileen Gray
Chrome
20th Century Northern Irish Eileen Gray
Leather
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Eileen Gray furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
- Where is Eileen Gray from?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Eileen Gray is from Enniscorthy, Ireland. Her formal art education was in London, and she later became one of the pioneers of the modern movement in architecture. You can shop a collection of Eileen Gray pieces from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2024Eileen Gray is famous for her work as a designer, artist and architect. During the early 20th century, she became known for her sculptural lacquered furnishings. By the early 1920s, she was creating geometric works that embodied the essence of Art Deco and the nascent modernist design movement. Never a self-promoter, Gray drifted out of the limelight in the 1930s. Interest in her work was revived in the early '70s, however, when the estates of her early clients came to auction. Her original lacquer pieces are the most coveted. Find a collection of Eileen Gray furniture on 1stDibs.
- Was Eileen Gray Art Deco?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertFebruary 21, 2024The answer to whether Eileen Gray's designs were Art Deco depends on which piece you're considering. Gray was ever-evolving as a designer. By the early 1920s, she was creating geometric works that embodied the essence of Art Deco and the nascent modernist design movement. Some pieces, like her Bricks screen, employ the planar forms favored by Gerrit Rietveld and other De Stijl architects of the Netherlands. Others feature the tubular chrome framing used by Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who are associated with the mid-century modern design style. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of Eileen Gray furniture.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Eileen Gray was one of the leading pioneers of the modern movement in furniture and design. She was known for her tubular steel Bibendum Chair, a take on the Michelin Man. Shop a collection of Eileen Gray’s pieces from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.