Born in 1878, the designer Eileen Gray was one of the five children of a rich
Irish family. Between 1898 and 1902 Eileen Gray attended the Slade School of
Fine Art in London and also worked at a furniture-making workshop, where she became
acquainted with Asian lacquers, which would start her on her life's work.
In 1900 Eileen Gray first went to Paris between 1902 and 1905 she attended
courses at the École Colarossi and the Académie Julian. In 1907 Eileen Gray
moved to Paris and 21 rue Bonaparte, a flat she would live in for the rest
of her life. From the Japanese artisan Seizo Sougawara, Eileen Gray learned
Japanese lacquer techniques.
Around 1910 Eileen Gray started making lacquered folding screens. In 1913 she
first showed work at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, where she attracted
the notice of the couturier and art collector Jacques Doucet, who became Eileen
Gray's first major client. In 1919 Eileen Gray was commissioned to design the
entire interior of the
Rue de Lota
flat of Madame Mathieu Lévy. In 1922 Eileen Gray opened Galerie Jean Désert,
where she sold her lacquer tables and screens. In the 1920s, Eileen Gray came
into contact with the Dutch avant-garde group De Stijl and their abstract geometric works.
At the same time, she was made acquaianted with contemporary modern architecture through
the French architect Jean Badovici. Eileen Gray's own work was strongly influenced by contemporary
architecture and she began to design stringently functional furniture. From 1926 until 1929
Eileen Gray and Badovici designed their own house in Roquebrune: E-1027. For that house, Eileen
Gray designed some very modern furniture, including the celebrated
"E-1027" Side Table with a
circular glass top and tubular steel frame. In 1930/31 Eileen Gray designed the furniture for
Jean Badovici's flat. In 1934 their house, "Tempe e Pailla", was built in Castellar. In 1937
Eileen Gray exhibited her work in
Le Corbusier's
"Pavillon des Temps Nouveau". After that
little more was heard about Eileen Gray; her work was not discovered until around 1970. Some
of the furniture she designed has been reissued by Classicon.
