Charles & Ray Eames Overview
Charles and Ray Eames met at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1940, counting Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia amongst others as their contemporaries. The Eames’ collaboration with Saarinen was a crucial, if not immediately successful, development in their careers, with their “Organic Chair” moulded out of a single piece of plywood winning first prize in a competition held by the Modern Museum of Art but, so far unable to solve the puzzle of putting such a piece into mass-production, it was regarded as a failure by its creators. Nevertheless, following a relocation to Los Angeles and the founding of the Eames Office, Charles and Ray would put these hard-won lessons into good practice.
Early work manufacturing splints for soldiers wounded in WWII for the US Navy allowed the Eameses to refine their production methods, bonding together wood veneers with resin adhesive and using a combination of heat and pressure to mould the material into the desired shape, which paved the way for a focus on their true passion, furniture, in the post-war years.
The 1950s saw the creation of numerous classic designs, none more iconic than the 1956 Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671) for Herman Miller which, with its moulded plywood frame, Brazilian rosewood veneer and plush leather upholstery, introduced the notion of ergonomic furniture for office and home. Likened by Charles to a ‘first baseman’s mitt’, it certainly held a universal appeal akin to baseball and arguably became ‘America’s chair’ with rivals rushing to copy it to such an extent that the Eameses took out a newspaper article in 1962 to warn their American buying public of these lesser quality imitations. While Charles and Ray’s expansive creativity would later branch out into fabric design, short films and architecture, it is their furniture of the 1950s, and particularly the Lounge and Ottoman, that resonate so strongly with collectors today.
The Value of Charles & Ray Eames at Auction
What a piece of Eames designed furniture is worth at auction comes down to originality, authenticity and condition: early Lounge and Ottoman sets will regularly achieve £5,000-8,000, particularly when free from damage and accompanied by original purchase receipts. For later editions a premium is placed on those produced by Herman Miller and Vitra whose furniture solely can bear the Eames name; modern or unsigned editions still hold value, often in the hundreds of pounds, if they are well-made.
Wilson55 have good experience selling Charles & Ray Eames furniture at auction and welcome enquiries regarding period and modern editions for inclusion in our Modern Art & Design Auctions which are held four times a year and cover a wide selection of furniture, studio pottery, ceramics, glass, print & multiples, paintings and more.
For a free, confidential auction valuation of your collection, to enquire about any of our lots or to enter your own collection into one of our specialist sales, get in touch: james.spiridion@wilson55.com or fill in our online valuation form below.
Meet the Expert
James Spiridion
Auctioneer and valuer specialising in Modern Design. James has recently returned to the North West after spending the last few years as a valuer in Scotland, during that time James also featured on Paul Martin's Auction Showdown for Channel 5 as a 'Rival Auctioneer'.
Email: james.spiridion@wilson55.com