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.
One Eames For Herman Miller Executive Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Pasadena, TX
One mid century modern executive chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. The high back model from the Aluminum G...
Aluminum
One Charles Eames Herman Miller Aluminum Group Chair
By Herman Miller, Charles Eames
Located in Pasadena, TX
One Charles Eames Herman Miller aluminum group chair 1970s Charles and Ray Eames aluminum group side chair, EA330 office confe...
Aluminum
Herman Miller Eames ’ Aluminum Chair
By Herman Miller
Located in Pasadena, TX
Herman miller chairs Aluminium Red Fabric Vintage Herman Miller Eames ‘EA316’ aluminum chair is a bold yet impressive piece to add to your own lou...
Aluminum
Pair of Restored Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Management Chairs
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Pasadena, TX
The Eames Aluminum Group collection (1958) began as a special project for Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard, who needed seating for a home they were designing for industrialist J. Irwin Miller in Columbus, Indiana. The pair asked the Eameses to design light, mobile leisure chairs. At the time, Charles and Ray were exploring ways to use aluminum, which had been strengthened, refined and made more affordable since WWII. So, they constructed a lightweight, die-cast aluminum frame and set a sling in it - a “sitting pocket,” as they called it, which subtly conformed to the body’s shape. This completely new type of seat marked a departure from the idea of a chair as solid Pair of restored Herman Miller...
Aluminum
Soft Pad Chair by Eames for Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Pasadena, TX
Soft Pad Chair by Eames for Herman Miller Length- 22 3/4 Depth- 23 Height at it's lowest- 32 Height at it's tallest- 34 Seat Height at its lowest- 20 Arm Height at its lowest- 25 Fo...
Aluminum
Midcentury Lounge Chair in the Style of Milo Baughman
By Milo Baughman
Located in Pasadena, TX
Chrome and leather lounge chair in the style of Milo Baughman Curved chrome flat bar in rich navy leather.
Chrome
Eames EA116 Grey Lounge Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra
Located in Warminster, GB
Rare Eames lounge chair from the 'Aluminium Group'. Designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1958, The aluminium chair is one of the most outstanding furniture designs of the 20th ce...
Fabric
Aluminium Chair EA108 by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller - 60s
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Padova, IT
True icons of twentieth century design, the seats of the Aluminum Group series were designed by Charles and Ray Eames in the 1950s and were first created in 1958, defining what is still the standard for meeting chairs today. A clean and visible structure, which combines the stability and lightness of aluminum with the comfort of a covering - in leather, fabric or mesh - which, being kept taut only by fixing to the sides, becomes an integral part of the joint. With an extraordinary sense of adventure, Charles and Ray Eames turned...
Aluminum
MCM Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller Aluminum Group High Back Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Topeka, KS
Marvelous vintage MCM (a.k.a. Mid-Century Modern) Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller Aluminum Group high back chair. Comprised of aluminum frame, 4 prong aluminum base, nylon feet, black swivel shaft, black powder coated aluminum arms, & has been reupholstered in an aubergine or eggplant faux suede. Beautiful condition, keeping in mind that this is vintage and not new so will have signs of use and wear. There are some minor scratches on the arms. Please see photos and zoom in for details. We attempt to portray any imperfections. Design Date, 1958. circa, 1960-1978. (We currently have three currently available but priced separately.) I can’t think of anything better than a vintage Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller Aluminum Group high back chair!!! Except maybe a purple one!! Aubergine Eggplant, Purple whichever!! WOW!!! It is comprised of an aluminum frame, 4 prong aluminum base with nylon feet, black swivel shaft, black powder coated aluminum arms, and it has been reupholstered in a lovely aubergine or eggplant faux suede fabric. Can we just say Design EXCELLENCE!!!! And not to mention extraordinary comfort! The dynamic design duo of husband and wife team Charles & Ray Eames focused on every detail and combined ergonomics, flexibility, constructive elements, highest quality materials, and attention to superior style which created a masterpiece that is highly sought after still today. The design was introduced in 1958 and is still in production! This vintage beauty will be phenomenal at a desk in an office setting, next to your bed or in the dressing area of your bedroom, or extra seating in the sitting room. It is versatile enough to blend in with many décor styles, but it’s bursting with Mid-Century Modern magnificence!! This treasure is exactly what the designer ordered! Charles Eames was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1907. Ray Kaiser Eames was born in Sacramento, California in 1912. They met at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and were married in 1941. They moved together to California and continued their design work they began together at Cranbrook. A commission, which they acquired from the government during WWII to produce molded plywood splints and stretchers, launched a career producing iconic Mid-Century Modern furnishings which are still fresh and sought after today. The Eames and their association with Herman Miller were the partnership of the century. If you want to learn more about Charles and Ray please visit Eames Office, the Eames Official website. Herman Miller started life as Star furniture...
Aluminum
1960s Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Las Vegas, NV
This is an original Iconic Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1958. It was produced...
Metal, Aluminum
Aluminum Group EA 116 Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, USA, 1990s
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Deland, FL
Introducing a rare, vintage Model EA 116 Swivel Chair designed by Eames couple for their now iconic 'Aluminium Group'. Designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1958, the aluminum chair i...
Aluminum
EA116, Early Edition, Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1958
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Barcelona, ES
Rare early edition “EA116” designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1958. The stamp “Herman Miller Patent Pending” proves the antiquity of the pie...
Aluminum
