Eileen Gray 1878 - 1976

Architect and designer of furniture and ornamental objects. Eileen Gray grew up in Ireland and moved to London in 1898 to attend the Slade School of Fine Arts. After graduating, she moved to Paris and was apprenticed to Seizo Sugawara, a Japanese master of the art of lacquer. Working with him she became exceptionally proficient in this media, quickly developing a clientele of her own.

This however, was to be merely the first of many styles and mediums that she was to master, eventually assimilating them all into the unique designs with which we associate her. Although her work emerged from an appreciation for French decorative arts, she studied Le Corbusier and the artists exhibiting in early 1900s Paris), we find that much of her work appears to owe little to any specific influence or movement.

A truly excellent craftsperson, her style has been described as chameleon-like in its range and flexibility; indeed there is an almost schocking contrast between her very appearance, (see image to the left) and such pieces as the Bibendum Armchair

Eileen Gray’s innovative Bibendum Chair was one of the 20th century’s most recognizable furniture designs. The chair is very much for lounging in and socializing. Its back/arm rest consists of two semi-circular, padded tubes encased in soft leather. The name that Gray chose for the chair, Bibendum, originates from the character created by Michelin to sell tyres.

The Bibendum Armchair was designed as part of the modernist movement which was completely different to her earlier, more traditional work. She decided to make the change in style to simply make progress. The art critics loved the chair and reviews in papers and magazines exclaimed that it was a triumph of modern living.