Lime Green Molded Elephant by Charles & Ray Eames
View Similar Items
Lime Green Molded Elephant by Charles & Ray Eames
About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 2000
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1546229050312
Eames Elephant
At just over 16 inches tall, the stackable, climbable — at least for little ones — Eames Elephant is another work from Charles and Ray Eames (1907–78; 1912–88) that symbolized their democratic belief that good designs should be inexpensive and available to everyone. After all, the couple liked to say they aimed “to make the best for the most for the least."
When the Eameses took to improving upon the problematic metal splints employed during World War II, plywood was cheap but available only in sheets. In their California apartment, the newly married Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni devised the "Kazam! Machine," an innovative homemade apparatus for heat-bonding layers of plywood.
Comprising wood veneers bonded together with a resin glue, the lightweight but sturdy, molded plywood splints conformed to the human leg and offered support in a way that metal couldn’t. The Eameses applied this inexpensive approach to their furniture-making as well as to the less-heralded toys they designed. “Toys and games are the prelude to serious ideas,” said Charles.
The sculptural, two-piece plywood Eames Elephant exemplified the Eameses’ diverse influences and enterprising ethos. The pair believed in making durable and interesting products for kids, too — a mid-1940s contract with Evans Products Company yielded seating and tables for children, a precursor to their popular plywood furniture for adults. While their Elephant was whimsical and would have appealed to any child’s innate curiosity, it was difficult to make. Technical challenges in 1945 prevented mass production of the piece, but today, both Vitra and Herman Miller manufacture the Eames Elephant.
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.
- Authentic RAR Rocking Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1960sBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated 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
- 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
- Herman Miller Eames Elephant Grey Desk ChairBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage Herman Miller Eames elephant grey swivel desk chair. Adjustable height base. No fading or damage. In excellent vintage condition. Pair avai...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Herman Miller Eames Elephant Hide Grey DSR ChairBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYHerman Miller Eames DSR fiberglass chair on Eiffel base in elephant hide grey. Chair dates to 1961. Base has excellent patina and new glides. No s...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Eames Herman Miller Dining Chairs in Elephant GrayBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of Elephant Gray Eames dining chairs by Herman Miller. These side chairs have excellent fiberglass texture and even color throughout. Herman Miller embossed logo visible and par...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Eames DCM Dining Chair by Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYClassic Eames DCM dining chair in black. Colored ash seat and back along with chrome frame. Self leveling nylon glides intact, allowing for use on mul...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Ray and Charles Eames Herman Miller Molded Shell Bar Stool Chair Kelly GreenBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a 2020 production Herman Miller Eames molded side shell chair with bar stool base. This example has not been used in a home or office...Category
2010s American Modern Stools
MaterialsMetal
- Wire Bikini Stools by Charles and Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Barcelona, ESPair of Wire stools designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, USA, 1960's. Special edition with steel structure re-lacquered in dark gray and new bikini pads.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsSteel
$1,375 / set - Molded Swiveling Chairs by Charles and Ray EamesBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Sagaponack, NYA vibrant group of swiveling armchairs having organically shaped seats with their expressive original red upholstery floating on lacquered stems rising from early four-pronged bases.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Aluminum
$6,800 / set - Pair of Yellow, Swivel Barstools / Drafting Stools by Charles and Ray EamesBy Herman Miller, George Nelson, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Kansas City, MORare pair of bar stools / drafting stools with armless yellow fiberglass bucket / shell chair seats designed by Charles and Ray Eames on bases designed by George Nelson. Both have ad...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsSteel
- Charles and Ray Eames, Time Life Stool, Walnut, USA, 1960sBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in High Point, NCA turned walnut "Time Life" stool designed by Charles and Ray Eames and produced by Herman Miller, USA, 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsWalnut
- Impeccable Molded Swiveling Armchair by Charles and Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CAImpeccable molded swiveling armchair by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Contractor base model.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel 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.