CHARLES AND RAY EAMES Charles Ormond Eames, Jr (1907-1978) and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames (1912-1988) are among the most important American designers of this century. They are best known for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design (e.g. the Eames Chair), industrial design, manufacturing and the photographic arts. Charles was greatly influenced by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and later created prize-winning work with Eliel’s son Eero for New York’s Museum of Modern Art, “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition. Their work displayed a new technique of wood moulding (originally developed by Alvar Aalto), that Eames would further develop into many moulded plywood products. Charles and Ray married in 1941, moving to California where they continued their furniture design work with molding plywood. During the war they were commissioned by the Navy to produce molded plywood splints, stretchers and experimental glider shells.
In 1946, Evans Products began producing the Eameses' molded plywood furniture. Their molded plywood chair was called "the chair of the century" by the influential architectural critic Esther McCoy. Soon production was taken over by Herman Miller Inc, who continues to produce the furniture in the United States to this day. Another company, Vitra International, manufactures the furniture in Europe. Examples of their work include the molded plastic or fiberglass chairs from the early 1950s and the famous Lounge Chair and Ottoman from 1956. Sturdy, comfortable and elegant office furniture was created in the 1960s, as well as seating designed for Dulles and O'Hare Airports. This Tandem Sling Seating is still in use in airports around the world today. The Eameses continued to create new furniture designs into the 1970s. Charles and Ray received many honorary degrees and awards from universities and organizations across the country. Charles was an appointee to the National Council of the Arts and held the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship at Harvard in 1970-71.
Ray served on the panel of "The Arts, Education, and Americans" set up by the American Council for the Arts in Education. Charles died August 21, 1978. Ray died ten years later to the day. The Eames Office still operates today, run by Charles' daughter, designer Lucia Eames. 1 - 25 of 29 ads for "original eames chair" within Dining ChairsCALIFORNIA'Flood fighting is in our DNA': To live by the Feather River is to know its power and danger Los Angeles Modern Auctions sale has items by Eames, Saarinen, others For those who love 20th century home furnishings and fine art, the city’s most prestigious specialist design auction house, Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA), is having its first ever warehouse tag sale on April 18-19 in the company’s Van Nuys headquarters.“There will be about 300 items, including designs by Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Eero Saarinen, as well as more obscure makers. Some pieces have been in our back warehouse for as long as 20 years,” says Peter Loughrey, founder and owner of LAMA.
It is available for £5,445. The lookalike (right) is available for just £200 from vertigo-interiors.co.uk Inspired by street lights, Castiglioni's arched 1962 design (left, conranshop.co.uk) featured in the 1971 Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. The designer version can be bought for £1,425. The lookalike (right) is available for just £195 from iconiclights.co.uk Created in 1958 in Copenhagen, this chair (left) was made famous by reality TV show Big Brother (conranshop.co.uk). It would set you back £5,004, but the lookalike (right) is available from pash-living.co.uk for just £399 This fun shade (left, from cloudberryliving.co.uk) was created by the Danish designer in the Sixties and named in homage to the 'flower power' movement. ) was created by Charles' wife Ray in 1953 to encourage children to hang up their belongings tidily. It can be bought for £199 for a snip at just £29 The Irish designer's work (left, from aram.co.uk) was hugely popular in stylish French homes in the early 20th century.
The original design can be bought for £489, but the lookalike version (right) can be bought for just £60 from vertigo-interiors.co.uk Now over 60 years old, it was created to allow parents to sit in comfort and rock their babies to sleep . Italian-American Bertoia said this chair, from the Fifties, looked like it was 'made of air, like sculpture'. The original (left) is available from conranshop.co.uk for £1,668, while the lookalike (right) can be picked up for just £69 from stonebutterfly.co.uk With slats to let light through, this stylish bench was created by the American designer in 1946. The original (pictured) is available from nest.co.uk for £538 Charles Eames designed this leather and plywood chair for his friend, Hollywood film director Billy Wilder, in 1956. The original design (pictured) is available from wharfside.co.uk, for £5,100 The design was intended to resemble the 'warmth, familiarity and comfort of a well-worn baseball mitt'. The lookalike (pictured) can be picked up for £749 from pash-living.co.uk