series of editorials on prominent designers

eileen gray was an interior designer and architect of irish origin who spent most of her life in france. she is most known for her modernist furniture and for the E-1027 villa she built on the french riviera.

she’s also considered a heroic figure to many female designers who have felt stifled by male dominance in the industry, largely due to her confrontation with le corbusier.

Eileen Gray looking sideways

Eileen Gray, 1927. Photo by Berenice Abbott. © National Museum of Ireland.

 

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born near Enniscorthy, Ireland

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Eileen Gray's Tube light. A vertical lamp

Eileen Gray’s Tube light. © Aram. Aram.co.uk

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studies art in London, then continues her education in Paris

Master lacquerer Seizo Sugawara finishing La Pirogue chaise lounge.
Photo: Eileen Gray.

 

Sugawara finishing La Pirogue chaise lounge. A photo was taken by Gray herself

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opens a workshop in Paris with Japanese lacquer Seizo Sugawara

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designs Rue de Lota apartment in Paris

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Eileen Gray's Roattino floor lamp. A black curved vertical lamp

studies architecture informally

Eileen Gray’s Roattino floor lamp. © Aram. Aram.co.uk