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.
2010s Eames Aluminum Group Management Desk Chair in Grey Naugahyde
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames Aluminum Group Management Desk Chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1958. This pa...
Aluminum
2010s Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Management Desk Chair in Grey Naugahyde
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames Aluminum Group Management Desk Chair, model EA335, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1958. These particular examples date to the 2010...
Aluminum
2010s Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Management Desk Chair in Grey w/ Manual Lift
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1958. This particular example was produced in the 2010s. The desig...
Aluminum
2016 Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Executive Desk Chair in Grey Leather
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames Aluminum Group Executive high back desk chair, Model EA337, designed by Charles and Ray Eames and produced by Herman Miller. The featured price includes one chair, b...
Aluminum
2015 Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Management Desk Chair in Grey Leather
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames Aluminum Group Management Desk Chair, Model EA335, initially designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1958. This particular example was produced in 201...
Aluminum
2010s Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Management Desk Chair in Gray Leather
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a single Herman Miller Eames aluminum group management desk chair in gray leather with polished aluminum base. The upholst...
Aluminum
Eames Soft-Pad Executive Chairs in Charcoal Maharam Wool by Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Stamford, CT
The great portfolio of Charles & Ray Eames is widely celebrated and serves as a model of inspiration for designers to this day. One of their most recognizable designs is the Aluminum Group line for Herman Miller from which these Soft Pad Executive Chairs were born. It is said that the Soft Pad variation was a design accident - cushions from the Eames Chaise found themselves draped over an Aluminum Group chair, and the rest is history. Whatever the story may be, the comfort of Charles & Ray’s Soft Pad seating perhaps rivals that of their famed Eames Lounge Chair. The Soft Pad collection consists of a Lounge Chair, a Low Back Management Chair, and this High Back Executive Chair. The design language is similar to the Eames Aluminum Group suite which sports a single “sling” of material which is tethered to two cast aluminum side rails and in this case, four plush cushions for optimal comfort. These chairs are equipped with a tilt mechanism with tension control as well as manual height adjustment. We have a large quantity of these Eames Soft Pad Executive Chairs...
Aluminum
Herman Miller Eames Tall Gray Leather Office Chair Soft Pad
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Detroit, MI
This authentic Eames for Herman Miller Soft Pad Executive Height desk chair from the Aluminum Group Collection was manufactured in the 2000s. This executive height chair features a t...
Aluminum, Steel
Mid-Century Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Gray Leather Management Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Secaucus, NJ
Stunning authentic Mid-Century Modern Eames aluminum group management chair. A timeless design classic and contemporary with Innovative comfort features. One of Herman Miller's most ...
Aluminum
2009 Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair in Pebble Gray Leather
By Herman Miller
Located in Wilton, CT
These beautiful authentic Mid-Century Modern Eames Herman Miller Executive Aluminum Group chairs by Knoll are upholstered in Pebble Grey Leather and are suitable for both home, offic...
Aluminum, Steel
Mid-Century Modern Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Charcoal Management Chair
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Secaucus, NJ
Stunning authentic mid-century modern Eames aluminum group management chair. A timeless design classic and contemporary with Innovative comfort features. One of Herman Miller most po...
Aluminum
Eames for Herman Miller EA124 Aluminum Group Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Astoria, NY
Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller EA124 Aluminum Group Lounge Chair, with geometric upholstery on aluminum base, with "Eames Office" label. 39.5" H x 24.5" W x 26" D; seat: 14...
Aluminum
