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.
Chaise lounge ClassiCon Day Bed design Eileen Gray - Black leather
By Eileen Gray
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: ClassiCon Model: Day Bed Design: Eileen Gray, 1925 The Day Bed is rightly counted among Eileen Gray's most celebrated designs. Conceived as a lounge piece that "offers pleasa...
Steel
Chaise lounge ClassiCon Day Bed design Eileen Gray - Black leather - Black
By Eileen Gray
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: ClassiCon Model: Day Bed Design: Eileen Gray, 1925 The Day Bed is rightly counted among Eileen Gray's most celebrated designs. Conceived as a lounge piece that "offers pleasa...
Steel
Sofa in leather ClassiCon Lota Sofa design Eileen Gray
By Eileen Gray
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: ClassiCon Model: Lota Sofa Design: Eileen Gray, 1924 The Lota Sofa originates from Eileen Gray's celebrated interior design for the apartment of Madame Mathieu-Levy on Rue de...
Leather, Wood
Sofa in fabric ClassiCon Lota Sofa design Eileen Gray
By Eileen Gray
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: ClassiCon Model: Lota Sofa Design: Eileen Gray, 1924 The Lota Sofa originates from Eileen Gray's celebrated interior design for the apartment of Madame Mathieu-Levy on Rue de...
Leather, Wood
Sofa in red leather ClassiCon Monte Carlo Design Eileen Gray
By Eileen Gray
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: ClassiCon Model: Monte Carlo Designer: Eileen Gray (1929) Type: Sofa Designed in 1929, the Monte Carlo sofa is one of Eileen Gray's most exclusive and expressive creations. I...
Steel
Sofa in white leather ClassiCon Monte Carlo Design Eileen Gray
By Eileen Gray
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: ClassiCon Model: Monte Carlo Designer: Eileen Gray (1929) Type: Sofa Designed in 1929, the Monte Carlo sofa is one of Eileen Gray's most exclusive and expressive creations. I...
Steel
Eileen Gray Monte Carlo Sofa for ClassiCon, Black Leather and Chrome, Signed
By Eileen Gray
Located in Kansas City, MO
Monte Carlo Sofa designed in Eileen Gray in 1929 and produced by ClassiCon in the 2000s. Curved form in black leather and tubular chrome. This example...
Chrome
Customizable ClassiCon Monte Carlo Sofa by Eileen Gray
By Eileen Gray
Located in New York, NY
Eileen Gray‘s perhaps most exclusive sofa radiates an allure from which no beholder can escape. The soft curve, the most unusual lines of the backrest make the Monte Carlo an incomp...
Leather, Fabric
Hannes Wettstein three seat sofa in black leather and steel. Model Delphi
Located in Esbjerg, DK
Hannes Wettstein three seat sofa new upholstered with black elegance full grain aniline leather. Base of brushed steel. Model Delphi, made by Erik Jørgensen
Stainless Steel
Johannes Spalt 'Constanze' Sofa Daybed in Black Leather and Steel
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Johannes Spalt for Wittmann, sofa or daybed, leather, chrome-plated steel, Austria, 1960s. This mid-century modern sofa is designed by the acclaimed Austrian furniture designer Johannes Spalt. The design is characterized by a solid construction based on sharp lines and angular shapes noticeable in the body of the seat and the chromed steel base, underlining the clear structured design. The metal legs elevate the seat in a graceful way, which establish an open and more transparent look to the whole unit. The tufted seat with buttons is upholstered in black leather. As outcome, this creates more visual interest and adds a graphical touch to the quite simplistic design. By only one hand movement the 'Constance' transforms from a comfortable sofa to daybed. A very elegant and also nifty technique. Johannes Spalt (1920-2010) was a postwar Austrian architect. In 1952 he founded the collective "Arbeitsgruppe 4" together with Wilhelm Holzbauer, Friedrich Kurrent and Otto Leitner. Their ideas and designs are still a great example of Austrian architecture...
Steel, Chrome
Le Corbusier, P. Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand LC5 Black Leather Sofa by Cassina
By Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand Cassina, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Sofa designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand in 1934. Relaunched by Cassina in 2014. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Contemporary and comfortable lines for ...
Metal
Charlotte Perriand Refolo Sofa in Black Leather for Cassina, Italy - new
By Cassina, Charlotte Perriand
Located in Berlin, DE
Prices vary dependent on the size/variation and material of the sofa. Modular system that can be used as a sofa, bench or other options designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1953. Relaun...
Wood, Leather
After years of diligent restoration, E-1027, the designer-cum-architect’s marriage of romance and modernism, is finally complete.
Decades after her death, appreciation for the legendary designer and architect's work continues to flourish.
