228: CHARLES AND RAY EAMES, 670 lounge chair and 671 ottoman < Essential Design, 4 May 2023 < Auctions

Essential Design

4 May 2023

Essential Design

228

Charles and Ray Eames
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670 lounge chair and 671 ottoman

Herman Miller
USA, 1956 / c. 1965
rosewood, leather, enameled and brushed aluminum chair: 32¾ h × 33 w × 33 d in (83 × 84 × 84 cm) ottoman: 16 h × 25¾ w × 22¾ d in (41 × 65 × 58 cm)

estimate: $3,000–5,000

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Metal manufacturer's label to underside of chair ‘Designed by Charles Eames Herman Miller Zeeland, Mich’.
provenance: Acquired directly from Herman Miller, Collection of Marjorie (Jo) Shirley, Grand Rapids, MI | Thence by descent
literature: Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, Neuhart, Neuhart and Eames, ppg. 206-207

This work will ship from Chicago, Illinois.

The present lot comes from the collection of Marjorie Shirley. Jo, as she was known, was the manager of the Herman Miller showroom located in the Exhibitors Building in Grand Rapids starting in the late 1950s. The showroom, one of eight in the United States, operated out of the historic building at 220 Lyon Street and benefitted from the close proximity to Herman Miller production in neighboring Zeeland. Each work offered here was acquired directly from the manufacturer by Shirley and enjoyed by her family for decades since.

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Lot 228 and Lot 282 illustrated in a photo from 1962. George the cat also pictured.

We've always been aware of not even attempting to solve the problem of how people should sit, but of rather arbitrarily accepting the way people do sit and of operating within that framework.

Charles Eames

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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