Masterworks 
25 May 2017
Masterworks 
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Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen

Rare pair of chairs from the Organic Design Competition

Haskelite Corporation/Heywood-Wakefield
USA, 1940
Honduran mahogany, original upholstery 32½ h × 18 w × 23 d in (83 × 46 × 58 cm)
estimate: $30,000–50,000
result: $32,500
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provenance: Private Collection, New York
literature: Organic Design in Home Furnishings, Noyes, ppg. 12-15
This chair was introduced at the MoMA's landmark exhibition, Organic Design in Home Furnishings.

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A design may be called organic when there is a harmonious organization of the parts within the whole, according to structure, material and purpose. Within this definition there can be no vain ornamentation or superfluity, but the part of beauty is none the less great—in ideal choice of material, in visual refinement, and in the rational elegance of things intended for use.

Eliot Noyes

An Award-Winning Seating Design

In 1940, the Museum of Modern Art in New York inaugurated the groundbreaking Organic Design competition to “discover good designers and engage them in the task of creating a better environment for today’s living.” The museum collaborated with several manufacturers and department stores to produce and distribute the winning designs.

Installation view of the Organic Design competition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1940

Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen submitted collections to two categories – seating for a living room and other furniture for a living room – and won first prize for both. Their use of innovative technologies and new manufacturing processes set the works by Eames and Saarinen apart from their competitors. Their designs dramatically influenced modern movements in the field as well as the future direction both designers would take in their careers. 

Original presentation drawing for the Organic Design competition

Despite winning the competition, the Eames-Saarinen chairs were too expensive to make so they never went into mass production. Still, these seating forms played a seminal role in the development of the Eames' ubiquitous LCW and Saarinen's renowned Womb chair in addition to greatly influencing a shift in modern design aesthetics and mass production methods.

Charles and Ray Eames

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The vast influence of Charles and Ray Eames is immeasurable; Responding to the burgeoning attitudes and landscapes of mid-century America, they created an utterly unique and novel design world, born from their curiosity, industriousness, optimism and humanistic impulses.

In 1940, the Charles and Ray met at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where Charles was collaborating with Eero Saarinen on furniture designs and Ray was studying painting. The two married in 1941 and moved to Los Angeles soon after, establishing their highly influential design firm that, with the help of other talented designers they brought in, would re-shape modern design. Early explorations in plywood and mass-producing sturdy, livable and charming furniture brought them success and allowed them to extend their efforts into more diverse fields such as education, textiles, filmmaking, curating, architecture and industrial design.

The Eames Office operated for over four decades, exerting an enormous influence on modern and contemporary design through their limitless vision of the human spirit. Charles passed away in 1978 and Ray died ten years later to the day. Their contribution to the American ethos continues to inspire and influence contemporary design today.

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Unique and Important Splint Sculpture

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Freestanding kiosk

estimate: $20,000–30,000

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Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen

chair from the Museum of Modern Art Organic Design Competition

estimate: $15,000–20,000

result: $50,400

Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen

high back armchair from the Museum of Modern Art Organic Design Competition

estimate: $50,000–70,000

result: $48,000

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