228 - HARLES EAMES (U.S., 1907–1978) & RAY EAMES (U.S., 1912–1988) for Vitra.

HARLES EAMES (U.S., 1907–1978) & RAY EAMES (U.S., 1912–1988) for Vitra. Soft Pad armchair, model EA-208. Designed in 1969. Seat and back with black leather, swivel base and armrests in chromed aluminum. Signs of wear considering the age. Produced at Vitra, with label. Measurements: 83 x 58 x 58 cm, seat high 52. The Soft Pad office chair by Charles and Ray Eames was created in 1969 for Vitra. It has an ergonomic shape that easily adapts to the contours of the body and is in keeping with the elegant design language developed by the Eameses in the 1950s and 1960s. Charles and Ray Eames, a married couple and artistic partners, worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine arts, and film, and are responsible for numerous designs that have become 20th-century classics. Charles Eames studied architecture for two years at the University of Washington, then began his career working at a firm on residential housing projects. In 1938, he moved to Cranbrook, Michigan, to continue studying architecture and design at the city’s Academy of Art. There he became a professor and headed the industrial design department. Together with Eero Saarinen, the son of his professor Eliel Saarinen, he designed the trophy for the Organic Design Award, presented by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1941, after divorcing his first wife, he married his Cranbrook colleague, Ray Kaiser. Together they settled in Los Angeles, where they remained for the rest of their lives. In the late 1940s, Ray and Charles designed their home together, known as the “Eames House,” which is now considered a masterpiece of modern architecture. In the 1950s, the couple continued to work in architecture and furniture design, pioneering the use of new techniques and materials such as fiberglass and plastic resin in the manufacture of chairs. Their work is currently represented at the Design Museum in London and MoMA in New York, among many other institutions.