Eileen Gray was born in 1878. Eileen Gray was one of the five children of an affluent Irish family. Between 1898 and 1902 Eileen Gray attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London as well as worked at a furniture-making workshop, where she became acquainted with Asian lacquers. Eileen Gray first went to Paris in 1900; between 1902 and 1905 she attended courses at the École Colarossi and the Académie Julian. Eileen Gray moved to Paris in 1907 where she would live in for the rest of her life. From the Japanese artisan Seizo Sougawara, Eileen Gray learned Japanese lacquer techniques. In approximately 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. Eileen Gray's own work was strongly influenced by contemporary architecture and she began to design strictly 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 contemporary furniture, including the celebrated "E-1027" side table with a circular glass top and tubular steel frame. Eileen Gray exhibited her work in Le Corbusier's "Pavillon des Temps Nouveau" in 1937 and after that little more was heard about Eileen Gray as her work was not discovered until around 1970.
RWA Office Design Solutions carries the following modern classic furniture pieces by Eileen Gray:The Bibendum Chair, The Non Conformist Chair, Roquebrune Chair, Eileen Gray Daybed and her glass side table.
