Eames Robin's Egg Blue Rar Rocking Chair for Vitra
View Similar Items
Eames Robin's Egg Blue Rar Rocking Chair for Vitra
About the Item
- Creator:Vitra (Manufacturer),Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27 in (68.58 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 27 in (68.58 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2000s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1546214626481
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.
Vitra
Design house Vitra has garnered international recognition for more than 70 years — the Swiss family-owned furniture company has outfitted public spaces as well as residential properties and offices worldwide. It has been a proponent of modernist design since the 1950s. While the brand is heralded for its collaborations with mid-century modern icons such as Verner Panton, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and others, Vitra’s German campus is also home to buildings designed by legendary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Among them is the Vitra Design Museum, an independent cultural institution that displays two centuries of design today.
Vitra was established in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, in 1950 by husband and wife team Willi and Erika Fehlbaum. On a trip to New York several years later, Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of design polymaths Ray and Charles Eames in a furniture store and immediately knew that he had found his bliss.
In 1957, Vitra entered into a licensing agreement with Herman Miller, which saw the company producing designs by George Nelson, the Eameses and others. Later, Vitra partnered with Verner Panton and created the Panton chair, which was the first chair ever crafted from a single piece of molded plastic (it was also the first piece to be independently developed by Vitra). After 27 years of establishing the Vitra brand, the Fehlbaums passed control to their two sons, Rolf and Raymond Fehlbaum.
When a fire destroyed the factory in 1981, the brothers developed the Vitra Factory Campus, subsequently taking the opportunity to redirect the architectural landscape of the company. They created a masterplan with Nicholas Grimshaw, and together they erected four buildings in just a few short years.
In 1988, with the passing of Ray Eames and the disbandment of the Los Angeles Eames office, Rolf and Raymond acquired the furniture design portion of her estate, including the Eames prototypes and experimental models, housed today in the Vitra Design Museum.
Rolf and Roy opened the Vitra Design Museum in 1989. This began a period rich with design relationships, including collaborations with Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Maarten van Severen, Philippe Starck, Alberto Meda and others.
In 2012, leadership passed to Nora, the third generation of the Fehlbaums. Nora Fehlbaum has, like her grandparents, expanded the company and brought it into the 21st century with the acquisition of Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek. Nora has turned the company’s focus to sustainability yet still maintains its international and cultural relevance legacy.
Find a collection of Vitra lounge chairs, tables, side chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Eames RAR Parchment Rocking Chair for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYParchment fiberglass RAR rocking chair by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured by Herman Miller. Clean shell with no cracks or holes. Signed Herman Miller and guaranteed authentic....Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Herman Miller Eames RAR Rocking ChairBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage Eames molded fiberglass shell in the fairest color of them all, Seafoam Green. Original top circa late 1950s-early 1960s. On later metal and wood base, in good condition with...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Herman Miller Eames RAR Rocking Chair in Red OrangeBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYHandsome 1950s Herman Miller Eames fiberglass shell on later rocker base. Red orange colored fiberglass with spectacular fiber contrast. Chrome plated steel rod frame with maple runn...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Authentic RAR Rocking Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1960sBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Brooklyn, NYAuthentic and rare RAR Rocking chair designed by Ray & Charles Eames for Herman Miller. This rocking chair was manufactured in the 1960s. The rocking chair is in original vintage con...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Herman Miller Eames RAR Rocker in ParchmentBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Brooklyn, NYGorgeous edition of the design classics model RAR rocking chair by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured by Herman Miller. Clean parchment shell with ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Eames RSR Rocking Chair Elephant GrayBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYElephant gray Herman Miller Eames fiberglass shell on rocking base. Excellent grain in the fiberglass side shell and factory dark gray painted back. Stam...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Charles Eames Classic RAR Rocking Chair Herman Miller GreigeBy Charles EamesLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA Classic Charles Eames RAR greige rocking chair with original birch runners. A survivor in very good original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Eames RAR Rocking Chair by Zenith for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Highland, INThe early Zenith shells are distinctive for their high fiber content and larger, more substantial rubber shock mounts, a translucent quality to the fiberglass. RAR was the designatio...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsIron
- Eames RAR Rocking Armchair for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Cincinnati, OHA very nice iconic Mid Century designed molded fiberglass rocking arm shell chair in a parchment color . The satin black base is constructed in metal rods with birch wood runners giv...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Charles and Ray Eames RARBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in West Palm Beach, FLAn early Lemon yellow rocker with its original base. Manufacturer's Label and Date Stamp.Category
Vintage 1950s North American Rocking Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Charles & Ray Eames RAR Rocking Chair “Zenith”By Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Seattle, WAKnown as the RAR rocking chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames, this chair has Zenith checker label and is the first generation produced in Zenith Plastic Factory in Gardena, Califor...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$2,000 Sale Price20% Off - Zenith Shell Rocking Chair RAR by Eames for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Sagaponack, NYThe iconic rocker: Zenith Shell Rocking Chair RAR designed by Charles and Ray Eames featuring the iconic organically shaped fiberglass shell resting ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsSteel
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.