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, 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. © 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.
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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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studies architecture informally
Eileen Gray’s Roattino floor lamp. © Aram. Aram.co.uk
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The bedroom at E-1027, 1929.
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builds the E-1027 villa for herself and her lover Jean Badovici
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splits up with Badovici, leaves E-1027
Eileen Gray’s Rivoli table. © Aram. Aram.co.uk
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builds a new villa for herself: Tempe a païa
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Eileen Gray in her Rue de Bonaparte apartment in Paris with the Brick Screen, 1970.
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gets interned
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historian Joseph Rykwert begins reviving interest in Gray’s work
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retrospective exhibition Eileen Gray: Pioneer of Design is held in London
Eileen Gray’s Bonaparte Chair. © Aram. Aram.co.uk
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Gray is given an honorary fellowship by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
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dies in Paris
Eileen Gray’s Centimetre rug. © Aram. Aram.co.uk
a house is not a machine to live in. it is the shell of man, his extension, his release, his spiritual emanation. —eileen gray
Eileen Gray’s Aixia chair. © Aram. Aram.co.uk
