Wright Auction

“A house is not a machine to live in,” declared Gray. “Not only its visual harmony but its entire organization, all the terms of the work, combine to render it human in the most profound sense”. In E-1027, furniture, rugs, and colored floor tiles demarcate zones for sitting, resting, washing, and working. Built-in storage units with pivoting drawers are an extension of the architecture. Lightweight tables of steel and glass can easily be moved onto the terrace, or adjusted in height. Chairs include the classic Bibendum (named for the Michelin man) and the Transat (inspired by the deck chairs on transatlantic liners). Upon completion, Gray and Badovici broke up. This combined with the fact Le Corbusier painted murals on the walls without her permission, distanced her from E-1027. 

Like an asymmetrical Oskar Schlemmer sculpture, the form of the stool radiates modernist thought – spareness, lightness, and high execution; the textile and paint are all-original and therefore an authentic and revealing vision into Modernism’s heroic past.

In 1931 Gray started work on a new house, one that was solely for herself above the nearby town of Menton—Villa Tempe à Pailla. Built upon an existing structure, Gray employed functionalist and modern principles to create a three–level architectural masterpiece. As in E-1027, she designed several furnishings for the interior, only here they were more flexible and experimental with many built-ins, and space saving devices, such as seats that double as steps to access cabinets or dining tables that fold into coffee tables, nearly everything had a dual purpose. The space itself was compact and organized around the daily movement of the sun. The terrace was created to have a 360 degree view of the sea, mountains and a lemon grove surrounding the property. A symbol of her independence, Tempe à Pailla was the culmination of her practice. It was her home, retreat and work space until the Nazis invaded France. 

This stool is a precious survivor, literally a modernist treasure—for it provides a direct link to the interior that Gray completed, 90 years ago, as an intimate statement on living in a modern way. Members of De Stijl and architects from all over the world highly praised Gray’s architecture as self-contained modernist manifestos. Ethereal and eternal spaces articulated by lighting and the objects within of which the present lot is a standout star. Like an asymmetrical Oskar Schlemmer sculpture, the form of the stool radiates modernist thought—spareness, lightness, and high execution; the textile and paint are all-original and therefore an authentic and revealing vision into Modernism’s heroic past. Function and beauty merge in the single work. Even the “EG” personal monogram on the underside of the stool is placed delicately and exactly on the constructivist grid. Adding to the gravitas and history of this decorative object is the fact that Eileen Gray took it with her when she moved back to Paris to her personal apartment on rue Bonaparte.