CURATED: Selected by Patrick Parrish II 
11 April 2024
CURATED: Selected by Patrick Parrish II 
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Charles and Ray Eames

670 lounge chair and 671 ottoman

Herman Miller
USA, 1956 / c. 1980
rosewood, leather, enameled and brushed aluminum chair: 32 h × 33¾ w × 29 d in (81 × 86 × 74 cm) ottoman: 16½ h × 26 w × 21 d in (42 × 66 × 53 cm)
estimate: $3,000–5,000
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Applied manufacturer's metal label to underside of chair ‘Herman Miller’.
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.

This item is subject to CITES regulations. Rago Wright LLC. cannot provide the required documentation needed for export out of the United States; therefore, this item is only eligible for domestic shipping.
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Curatorial Alchemy

If asked to select one word to describe Patrick, I would resist and pick two. The first would be curiosity — a fundamental essential, to stimulate inquiry and rigour in all things, both great and small, of any era or region, type or surface. Even the most fleeting survey of this selection for sale is a celebration of innovation and of inspiration — an unerring eye for the unusually exceptional, or perhaps the exceptionally unusual. The chances are, that these are indeed discoveries that you have not yet realised that you needed to make. 

Mentor, would be my second word. If artefacts and objects articulate visual, cultural and historic language, then the fluency of skillful mentorship — to guide, nurture, describe and explain — releases the eloquence of murmuring histories. In this capacity Patrick is that most earnest and sincere of excellent narrators. If ever I had friends, clients or colleagues visiting New York looking for unusual inspiration, there was always the certainty that Patrick’s venues would offer them a glimpse of the hitherto unseen or the unusually seductive, always with the reassurance of the most fascinating story waiting to be told. 

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Mentorship and curiosity, when balanced in equal measure, reveal the precious alchemy of a curator. And it is the duty of the mature curator to discern and detect, to cultivate change, and from there to pioneer, and to share. Innovation is never static, and the Present is already the Future. Fresh dialogs evolve, energies to be nurtured, opportunities to be guided. Renewed and re-orientated, Patrick’s decision to exchange his bricks-and-mortar Tribeca gallery for a new interactive Brooklyn space aligns him towards a new inquisitive future as supportive benefactor, interlocutor and mentor to a fresh yield of talented creators — those established and those rising — and the quest for discovery rejuvenates. 

— Simon Andrews
andrewsartadvisory.com

How do you design a chair for acceptance by another person? Not by thinking of what the other guy wants, but by coming to terms with the fact that… we're a hell of a lot more like each other than we're different…. What you try to do [as a designer] is satisfy your real gut instinct and work your way through your idiosyncrasies… make the first step of understanding without trying to introduce our personalities.

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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