Designer
Charles Eames & Eero Saarinen
Charles Eames (1907–1978) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, studied architecture at Washington University and in 1938 took a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he soon taught and in 1940 headed the industrial…
Biography
Background
Charles Eames (1907–1978) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, studied architecture at Washington University and in 1938 took a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he soon taught and in 1940 headed the industrial design department. Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) was born in Finland, the son of the architect Eliel Saarinen, grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and returned to the United States from Europe in 1936 to work in his father's office and teach at Cranbrook.
The joint work
At Cranbrook the two met and experimented with new furniture forms; Vitra says these produced the first designs for furniture of moulded plywood. In 1940 they submitted the Organic Chair as a joint entry to the Museum of Modern Art's competition "Organic Design in Home Furnishings". Vitra says they won first prize in both categories they entered, and Wikipedia reports that the two received first prizes together at MoMA that year.
After 1940
No manufacturer could then produce the chairs in quantity. Vitra writes that Charles Eames, with Ray Eames, concentrated on perfecting plywood moulding, while Eero Saarinen turned increasingly to architecture. Wikipedia adds a 1945 commission to the pair for the Case Study Houses 8 and 9, and discussions between Eames and Saarinen about the IBM pavilion of the 1964 World's Fair.
Collections
Products
Organic Conference
Upholstered conference chair of 1940 for table seating, with a laminated shell and ash or oak legs.
Organic Chair
Upholstered reading chair with a medium-high backrest, laminated shell and ash or oak legs.
Organic Highback
Upholstered armchair with a high seat shell, extended backrest and longer, wider armrests.
