Charles and Ray Eames

Background

Charles Eames (1907–1978), born in St. Louis, studied architecture at Washington University and was offered a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art by Eliel Saarinen in 1938. Ray Eames (born Bernice Alexandra Kaiser, 1912–1988, Sacramento) studied painting with Hans Hofmann and exhibited with the American Abstract Artists before enrolling at Cranbrook in 1940. They married in 1941 and moved to Los Angeles.

Signature Style

The Eameses explored moulded plywood, fiberglass, wire and aluminium to create comfortable, affordable furniture for industrial production – 'the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least'. Their work spans furniture, architecture, film, photography, graphic and exhibition design, driven by the conviction that 'the details are not the details. They make the product.'

Notable Works

• Plywood leg splints for the US Navy (1941–42) and the moulded plywood chairs shown at MoMA (1946)
• Eames Plastic Chairs (1950), Eames Storage Unit (1949) and the Eames House (1949)
• Lounge Chair & Ottoman (1956), Aluminum Group, La Chaise
• Films such as Powers of Ten

Legacy

Their Eames Office in Venice, California ran from 1943 to 1988. Herman Miller produced their furniture in the US, and since 1957 Vitra has made it for Europe and the Middle East – the encounter with their work launched Vitra as a furniture maker. Honours include the RIBA Royal Gold Medal (1979).