Eileen Gray – Irish Architect and Furniture Designer
Eileen Gray 1878-1976 Ireland/France
Eileen Gray was born into a well off artistic family in Ireland which enabled her to study at the Slade School of fine Arts in 1898.
She developed a broad range of design skills.
Then in 1902 she moved to France to study drawing at the Academies Colarossi and Julian in Paris.
She then trained under Songawara – a Japanese craftsman in the art of lacquer.
During World War I she left France and spent most of her time in London, returning to Paris in 1918.
She worked as a furniture designer until 1919. The furniture that she designed was only made in small quantities.
During the 1970’s her furniture was reproduced by Zeez Aram. It was a very difficult task as there were often few surviving pieces and he had to rely mainly on photographs.
Now, a steady stream of rediscovered designs are put into production every year.
From 1919 she then started working in interior design.
In 1927 for self promotion she opened the “Gallerie Jean Desert” to show off her own work, at the same time she began an interest in the De Stijl movement.
She received a good review for a bedroom – boudoir for Monte Carlo by JJP Oud & Walter Gropius in 1923.
A talented woman she then worked as an architect and exhibited architectural projects in Le Corbusier’s pavilion des Temps Nouveaux in the Paris Exhibition of 1937.
Eileen Gray’s famous furniture designs include:
Transat Chair and Table
Bidendum Chair
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