Charles Eames : furniture from the

design collection, the Museum of

Modern Art, New York
By Arthur Drexler

Author
Drexler, Arthur.;Museum of Modern Art
(New York, N.Y.)

Date
1973

Publisher
The Museum of Modern Art

ISBN
0870703145

Exhibition URL

www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1712

The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition history—

from our founding in 1929 to the present—is
available online. It includes exhibition catalogues,
primary documents, installation views, and an
index of participating artists.

MoMA © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art

CHARLESEAMES
FURNITURE
FROM THE DESIGN COLLECTION
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK
LIBRARY
Museumof Mocfc-fnAft
CHARLESEAMES
FURNITURE
FROM THE DESIGN COLLECTION
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK
BY ARTHUR DREXLER

LIBRARY"
iteaurn of Mod&rr Art
mha
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN TRUSTEES OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
c. 2^ Arthur Drexler, Director William S. Paley, Chairman
Emilio Ambasz, Curator of Design Gardner Cowles, Vice Chairman
John Garrigan, Assistant Curator of Graphic Design Henry Allen Moe, Vice Chairman
Mary Jane Lightbown, Research Associate David Rockefeller, Vice Chairman
Kathryn Eno, Assistant to the Director Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, President
Katherine Mansfield, Secretary J. Frederic Byers III, Vice President
Jerry Bowen, Custodian Mrs. Bliss Parkinson, Vice President
Ludwig Glaeser, Curator of the Mies van der Rohe James Thrall Soby, Vice President
Archive Neal J. Farrell, Treasurer
Susan Evens, Secretary Robert O. Anderson
Carol Sullivan, Cataloguer Mrs. Douglas Auchcincloss
Anny Eder, Conservator Walter Bareiss
Margarete Hachigian, Researcher Robert R. Barker
Alfred H. Barr, Jr.*
COMMITTEE ON ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Mrs. Armand P. Bartos
William A. M. Burden
Philip Johnson, Chairman Ivan Chermayeff
Mrs. Douglas Auchincloss Mrs. Kenneth B. Clark
Armand P. Bartos John de Menil
Ivan Chermayeff Mrs. C. Douglas Dillon
Arthur Drexler Williiam H. Donaldson
Mrs. Richard Duffalo Mrs. Edsel B. Ford*
Jack Lenor Larsen Gianluigi Gabetti
Mrs. Charles P. Noyes George Heard Hamilton
Donald Page Wallace K. Harrison*
T. Merrill Prentice, Jr. Mrs. Walter Hochschild*
James W. Husted*
Philip Johnson
Mrs. Frank Y. Larkin
Gustave L. Levy
John L. Loeb
Ranald H. Macdonald*
Mrs. G. Macculloch Miller*
J. Irwin Miller
Richard E. Oldenburg
Mrs. Charles S. Payson*
Gifford Phillips
Nelson A. Rockefeller
Mrs. Wolfgang Schoenborn
Mrs. Bertram Smith
Mrs. Alfred R. Stern
Mrs. Donald B. Straus
Walter N. Thayer
Edward M. M. Warburg*
Clifton R. Wharton, Jr.
Monroe Wheeler*
John Hay Whitney
*Honorary Trustee for Life

Copyright © 1973. Printed in the U.S.A.

The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street,
New York 10019
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 73-76672
ISBN 0-87070-314-5
INTRODUCTION

This survey of furniture by Charles Eames is An object is chosen for its quality because
the first in a series devoted to important it is thought to achieve, or to have originated,
groups of material in the Design Collection of those formal ideals of beauty which have be
the Museum of Modern Art. come the major style concepts of our time.
The most original American furniture de Historical significance is a more flexible cri
signer since Duncan Phyfe, Charles Eames terion. It applies to objects which may not re
has contributed at least three of the major solve problems of aesthetics and function with
chair designs of the twentieth century. He has total success, but which nevertheless have con
also given a personal and pervasive image to tributed importantly— or may yet contribute-
the idea of lightness and mobility. His work to the development of design.
has influenced furniture design in virtually Reflecting these separate but related consid
every country, and his mastery of advanced erations, the Design Collection is administered
technology has set new standards of both de in two sections. Objects thought to be of such
sign and production. The first of his chairs, excellence that, even if not major works of
executed in collaboration with the architect their kind, they may still be said to have se
Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) emerged from a cured their place in the history of design, are
1940 Museum of Modern Art competition. incorporated in the Collection as "permanent"
Since then furniture by Eames has been mass- acquisitions. Material of supplementary and
produced in quantities that must now be perhaps less certain interest is accessioned
counted by the millions, and more than 50 ex into the Study Collection. Both categories are
amples of his work have entered the Museum's continuously reviewed, and as critical judg
Design Collection. ment changes material is occasionally shifted
from one to the other. Study Collection ma
Concerned primarily with mass-produced use terial may be de-accessioned at the discretion
ful objects made to serve a specific purpose, of the Department of Architecture and Design
the Design Collection was formally inaugu and its advisory Trustee Committee ; material
rated in 1934 with objects culled from the in the Design Collection proper may be acces
"Machine Art" exhibition organized by Philip sioned and de-accessioned only with the ap
Johnson. Since then the Collection has grown proval of the Museum's Board of Trustees.
to more than 2100 examples, representing all About 200 objects illustrating the history of
the arts of manufacture, and classified within modern design and its relevant nineteenth
the following categories : appliances and century forebears may be seen in the Mu
equipment ; furniture ; tableware ; tools ; and seum's Goodwin Galleries. Much of the ma
textiles. In size and diversity they range from terial in this exhibition is changed from time
such mass-produced artifacts as pill boxes, to time, but certain key works are almost al
typewriters and radios to chairs and tables, ways on view.
an automobile, and even such semi-architec
tural productions as the entrance arch to a
Paris Metro Station.
Two criteria apply in the selection of ob Arthur Drexler, Director
jects: quality and historical significance. Department of Architecture and Design

3
 3^ :$m

1 Furniture by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen,

Museum of Modern Art's "Organic Design in
Home Furnishings" exhibition, 1941.
2 Scale models by Eames and Saarinen.
It is difficult now to recall the fervor with which by Eliot Noyes, the Director of the Museum's
early champions of modern architecture Department of Industrial Design, who had re
fought to change our buildings and the arti cently completed his studies with Gropius at
facts that fill them. By the mid-1980s Marcel Harvard. "A design may be called organic",
Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Noyes wrote, "when there is an harmonious
Germany, and Le Corbusier in France, had organization of the parts within the whole,
established what seemed to be prototypical so according to structure, material, and purpose.
lutions for most design problems. Particularly Within this definition there can be no vain or
in furniture, German and French work seemed namentation or superfluity, but the part of
emblematic of the modern spirit: its talis beauty is none the less great—in ideal choice
mans were precise, machined (or hand of material, in visual refinement, and in the
crafted to look machined), and apparently rational elegance of things intended for use".
useful. Where the Germans and French worked As Noyes now observes, this definition of
with metal, Finland's Alvar Aalto preferred organic was not altogether persuasive. It
wood; this was understood as a wholesome seeks to relate ideas that have no necessary
Scandinavian taste for nature, and perhaps conjunction: thus utility emerges as the ulti
also a certain slackness in responding to the mate determinant of form ; and beauty is a by
dictates of function. product of "rational" decisions. The exhibi
With the arrival at Harvard of Walter tion catalog reviews the pioneering work of
Gropius in 1937, and Mies van der Rohe at the several modern designers but omits any men
Armour Institute of Technology in 1938, the tion of Frank Lloyd Wright, who popularized
ideals and methods of German functionalism the term. Yet Wright's understanding of it
were rapidly adapted to the American scene. would have emphasized "wholeness". Like
But public acceptance of Bauhaus principles Aristotle, who first defined it, he would have
lagged ; young architects emerging from Har understood a "whole" as something in which
vard could more readily persuade their clients the position and shape of the parts in relation
to accept a modernism of Scandinavian rather to each other make a difference more conse
than German character, and it was Aalto's quential than "harmony". The genuine part
furniture that was first to appear in small of a whole cannot retain its own character
specialty stores. Most modern furniture was except in the whole of which it is a part. To
costly, and none of it was widely available. remove it is to destroy the part and mutilate
In this context the Museum of Modern Art the whole.
responded enthusiastically to a suggestion This conception derives from the example
made by Bloomingdale's department store in of living organisms ; and it is not surprising
New York City. Bloomingdale's, recognizing that in popular usage "organic design" means
the emergence of a younger generation open forms and materials found in nature, preva
to new design ideas, wanted to find designers lently curvilinear, and frequently embodying
who could produce work of good quality. To the marks of their own history and "growth"
ward this end the Museum conducted in 1940 under the craftsman's hand. (Characteristics,
an inter-American competition for the design incidentally, of much Scandinavian design
of home furnishings. Other stores, and even until the 'sixties). But in the philosophy of
tually manufacturers, also joined in sponsor
ing the project, which was called "Organic
Design in Home Furnishings". OVERLEAF
Exhibitions involving ideas of the moment
are always difficult to title, and usually end up 3-10 COMPETITION DRAWINGS.
Eames and Saarinen.
tagged with a phrase either too narrowly spe "Organic Design in Home Furnishings", 1940.
cific or too ambiguously vague. The term "or Eight of ten drawings, colored pencil and collage
ganic" was explained in the exhibition catalog on white poster board. 20" x 30".
aesthetics the primary meaning of "organic"
refers to a kind of wholeness different from
harmony and other forms of aggregation, be
cause it precludes the possibility of inter
changeable parts. The point is of some interest
because, when the results of the competition
were published and exhibited in 1941, the de
signs by Eames and Saarinen combined both
"organic" and "aggregate" solutions, and a
struggle with this formal problem has marked
Eames' work ever since.
First prize for seating and other living
room furniture went to the entries jointly
submitted by Eero Saarinen and Charles
Eames. Both men were at that time associ
ated with the Cranbrook Academy of Art in
Michigan, Eero being the son of the School's
Director, the architect Eliel Saarinen. Eames,
born in St. Louis in 1907, had studied architec
ture and opened his own architectural office
in 1930. In 1936 he accepted a fellowship and
later a teaching post at Cranbrook. Besides
Eero Saarinen his colleagues there included
Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Harry Weese,
Ralph Rapson, and Ray Kaiser; all of whom
were subsequently to do important work in
architecture and design. Ray Kaiser, who had
studied painting with Hans Hoffman, assisted
Eames and Saarinen in preparing the compe
tition entries.
Of the winning designs from the United
States, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, and
Brazil, most had in common a simplicity of
construction due as much to economy as to
aesthetic principles. The Eames and Saarinen
designs for seating were unique in requiring
an important structural innovation. All of
their chairs made use of plywood shells, not
bent in one direction, as had already been done
by Aalto and Breuer, but molded in two direc
tions. The resulting compound curves are em
phatically three-dimensional, relating the
chairs to sculpture in that they are not com
pletely intelligible when seen in profile but
must be seen in the round. Moreover, the dou
ble curvature of the molded plywood allows
the use of thin veneers laminated to layers of
glue, achieving considerable strength.
 ——

F&I;

11, 12 Cut-away examples of sectional sofa and lounge

chair, showing construction details.
13 Storage cabinets on benches, combined with two-
legged desk.
14 Triangular coffee table with molded plywood top.
 In the design for a sectional seating unit solution to the problem of storage called for
(7, 11) the shell supports flat springs which boxes of uniform dimensions, the interesting
in turn carry layers of padding, foam rubber, innovation being that the boxes were not to
and upholstery cloth. The light shell replaces support themselves but were to be carried on
bulkier wood frame construction, but an even separate benches, which could also function as
greater advance toward lightness and sim seats (9, 10, 13, 14) .
plicity was achieved with the molded shells for Production and distribution of this furni
armchairs (4, 5, 12). Here springs have been ture, like the other winning designs, was se
eliminated and a foam rubber pad alone pro verely limited by the war. In 1941 Ray Kaiser
vides softness. and Charles Eames were married and moved
In four of the chairs the shells are one-piece to southern California, where they worked to
elements incorporating the arms as well as the develop low-cost techniques for wood lamina
seat and back. Only legs are designed as sep tion and molding. This research resulted in a
arate elements. By 1941 Chrysler Corporation commission from the U.S. Navy to produce
had developed a process called cycle-welding, molded plywood stretchers and splints (16).
whereby wood could be joined to rubber, glass, By 1946 they had designed a new set of molded
or metal. Eames had intended to use this tech plywood chairs, which the Museum exhibited
nique to connect aluminum legs to the inside in a one-man show and which the Herman
surfaces of the molded shells. But the cycle- Miller Company began to produce, using tools
weld process was reserved for military pur developed in the Eames' Venice workshop.
poses in World War II, preventing Eames Of the chairs included in the Museum's 1946
from using it commercially. Instead, the com exhibition, the side chair of molded plywood
petition designs were finally executed with with metal rod legs, produced in both dining
wood legs, which penetrated the shells and and lounge heights, emerged as a completely
were fastened from within by a metal flange. successful—and beautiful—design (25). Among
Apart from the unavoidable problems of the many ingenious designs that followed it,
strength and durability imposed by this the molded plywood and leather-padded lounge
change of plan, the treatment of legs as thin chair (68), and perhaps the aluminum frame
spikes with no apparent connection to the lounge chair (74) would now also appear to
shell—visually as well as structurally— insists be major achievements in the development of
on the formal integrity of the shell as an 20th century furniture.
element whose function does not include sup Eero Saarinen, in his own later work, pur
porting itself. Of all the shells, two are of sued the notion of one-piece, one-material as
particular interest for their sculptural config the ideal formal solution. Eames has played
urations : those described as being for "relax with the idea but finds it dogmatic. The prob
ation" and for "lounging" (5, 8). The relaxa lem, in his own words, began with "How do
tion chair is given a convincing plasticity by you hold two wood shells in space?". He has
its high back, and by the opening which occurs tended to develop sophisticated technical solu
where the back would meet the seat (so that tions first, and only later re-design the some
the back is in effect cantilevered from the times disparate parts to make them harmo
sides of the shell) . The lounging chair owes its nize.
interest to its asymmetry, and perhaps to the It is characteristic of Eames' furniture that
coy posture it implies. Eames returned to the it can be scattered or clustered but need not be
idea in 1948 (64), but no version has ever formally aligned, alfording a flexibility of use
been manufactured. that has been much admired by his fellow ar
The other entry by Saarinen and Eames chitects. "I think of myself officially as an
comprised a group of cabinets and coffee architect", Eames has said ; "I can't help but
tables, later supplemented by desk-tables. Like look at the problems around us as problems of
most designers of modern furniture, their structure— and structure is architecture".

12
15 Charles Eames (left) and Eero Saarinen in 1941.
16 LEG SPLINT. 1942.
Molded plywood. 41%" 1.

13
 Significant innovations in chair design and idea of a chair made as a sculptural object in
production begin in 1856 with Michael one material, and if possible in one piece, was
Thonet's process for steaming and bending fitfully pursued. One of the most stylish efforts
solid rods of beechwood. Thonet's light, strong was Eero Saarinen's 1957 armchair of molded
chairs were sold through illustrated catalogs plastic balanced on a stem pedestal. Limita
and have endured extremes of climate from tions of strength resulted in the pedestal being
Alaska to Brazil. The famous example shown made of aluminum, painted white to match the
here (17) was used by Le Corbusier in many plastic (22) .
of his buildings, and like some of the more Not until Verner Panton's 1968 side chair
flamboyantly curvilinear Thonet designs is was it possible to mass-produce a truly one-
still in production. piece chair of plastic which, moreover, rein
The developments which inaugurate mod troduces the cantilever (23) . In Italy the idea
ern design rely not on curvilinear embellish has been pursued with fervor, but the results
ment but on the reduction of form and material are not always distinguished for comfort.
to their essentials. Ludwig Mies van der Techniques developed in Europe and the
Rohe's tubular steel side chair of 1926, the United States now make it possible to lami
first and still the most elegant of its kind, is nate plastic foam and fabric to plastic shells,
really a three dimensional diagram of struc thus maintaining the comfort allowed by more
ture, carrying seat and back elements of conventional construction.
leather or cane attached directly to the steel
(18).
Marcel Breuer's 1928 side chair combines a
steel tube with applied seat and back panels of
cane mounted to wood frames. Its modest di
mensions and trim lines have made it one of
the most popular chairs of the twentieth cen
tury (19).
Both the Breuer and Mies chairs replace
Thonet's wood rods with steel tubes. The in
crease in strength allows cantilever construc
tion ; supported at the front only, such chairs
flex under the weight of their occupants. Alvar
Aalto achieved a similar strength and flexi
bility with bent plywood, in his 1934 lounge 17 GEBRUDER THONET, Austria.
chair (20) . Here the seat alone flexes ; in other Armchair, c. 1870. Bent beechwood. 31" h.
designs Aalto made cantilevered plywood 18 LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE
frames also strong enough to flex without Side chair. 1926. Chrome-plated steel tube;
breaking. leather. 30%" h.
In the chairs by Mies, Breuer and Aalto 19 MARCEL BREUER
Side chair. 1928. Chrome-plated steel tube; wood;
each part is given its own distinct shape and
cane. 32" h.
material. But in 1946 Mies made dozens of
sketches of a chair to be made of one material 20 ALVAR AALTO
Lounge chair, c. 1934. Bent birch plywood. 25%" h.
—molded plastic— in one piece. These sketches
inspired the entry by Robert Lewis and James 21 ROBERT LEWIS, JAMES PRESTINI
Lounge chair. 1948. Molded plastic. 34" h.
Prestini to the Museum of Modern Art's 1948
Low-cost Furniture Competition (21). Ma 22 EERO SAARINEN
Armchair. 1957. Molded plastic reinforced with
terials and techniques were still too costly, Fiberglas; painted aluminum base. 32" h.
and it seemed unlikely that the public would 23 VERNER PANTON
accept an unupholstered lounge chair. The Side chair. 1968. Molded plastic. 32%" h.

U
 24 25

By 1946 the techniques for manufacturing

molded plywood chairs were developed enough
to allow production of more than 5,000 units.
Begun in the Eames studio, and later taken
over by the Herman Miller Furniture Com
pany, this production concentrated on the side
chair with which Eames achieved worldwide
renown.
Made in both dining and lounge heights, the
design employs %" diameter steel rods to form
"/16 both the front and back legs ; and a 7 diam
eter rod to make the connecting spine which
also carries the backrest. Rubber shock mounts
bolted to the metal frame and bonded to the
wood give the entire chair a comfortable re
silience which is part of its strength, belying
its apparent fragility (24).
The 5-ply wood panels, molded in compound
"/16 curves, are 5 thick. Although now made
only in walnut, early production used ash,
walnut and birch ; one model used birch stained
bright red or black. Originally the metal legs
were equipped with rubber tips ; because they
tended to fall off Eames later developed the
permanently attached self-leveling nylon
glides used in current production.
Part of the elegance of this design must be
attributed to the contours of the seat and, even
more, the back panel. Eames himself cites the
hundreds of studies discarded because the
contours of these two elements somehow at
tracted undue attention. The back panel might
be described as a rectangle about to turn into
an oval, the transformation being arrested at
a point midway between the two shapes. Am
biguous but not bland, the shape is instantly
seen as a whole, with no part of its contour
catching the eye (27). The curve of the seat
flares more emphatically and from certain
angles gives the chair a curiously animated
look.
The look and the technology can be imi
tated, although the technology requires rather
more effort. During the late 'forties extreme
lightness in furniture design and construction
came to be associated with a style of deport
ment epitomizing California and, by implica-

24, 25 DINING CHAIR. 1946.

Molded walnut plywood ; steel rods ; rubber shock-
mounts. 29 h.
26, 27, 28 DINING CHAIR. 1946.
Molded walnut plywood; steel rods; rubber shock-
mounts. 29 W h.
29,30 LOW SIDE CHAIR. 1946.
Molded walnut plywood ; steel rods ; rubber shock-
mounts. 27%" h.
tion, the rest of youthful America, much as
carved, oiled, and knobbily jointed wood was
thought to proclaim Scandinavian modera
tion.
The distinctive and memorable image con
tributed by what is now called simply "the
Eames chair" does indeed have about it some
thing that seems American. It does not sup
press necessary mechanical details but rather
makes them plainly visible. Hardware is
pragmatically designed to do a job, but not
overdesigned in the romanticizing manner
Americans often identify as European. Never
theless, the Eames approach has its own ro
mantic commitment : it derives from the belief
that there is an inherent good in making the 33
greatest use of the least amount of material.
It achieves its purpose by separating func
tions and defining them in the narrowest pos
33 SIDE CHAIR, c. 1944.
sible way, so that each will require a specific Molded plywood stained red; single back leg of
shape and material ; hence the importance of double steel rod. 29 %" h.
connectors and other items of hardware.
34 SIDE CHAIR, c. 1944.
In 1946 the Museum of Modern Art de Molded canaletta plywood; single front leg.
voted a small exhibition to the metal and wood 29%" h.
side chairs and other related work, including
some experimental chairs that were never
mass-produced. Two of these are simply varia
tions in the arrangement of legs for the dining
chair. In one a single leg is placed at the front
(34) ; in the other it is at the back (33) . The
latter version also uses a doubled length of rod
for greater strength. Both versions were dis
carded because they were not sufficiently stable.
More interesting were the versions de
signed to be unstable : chairs with a projecting
rear leg shorter than the others, so that the
restless occupant could tilt back until the rear
leg touched the floor (35, 36) . Chairs designed
to absorb energy, like Greek "worry beads",
might have been expected to enjoy a wide
market ; these, however, were not produced.

31 Eames installation for 1946 Museum of Modern

Art exhibition, "New Furniture Designed by
Charles Eames".
32 Mies van der Rohe installation of Eames furni
ture for the Museum's 1947 exhibition, "One Hun
dred Useful Objects of Fine Design".

21
 35

35 SIDE CHAIR, c. 1944.

Molded plywood; tilt-back legs of single and
double metal rod. 25%" h.
36 SIDE CHAIR, c. 1944.
Molded walnut plywood; tilt-back legs of steel
bars and rods lacquered black. 26" h.
37 COFFEE TABLE. 1946.
Molded plywood circular tray top ; three legs of
steel rod. 15%" h., 34%" dia.

22 t
 Among the variations of the lounge and dining
height chairs to enter production was a design
executed entirely in wood. Few examples re
veal Eames' methods and preferences more
clearly. Apart from the appeal of wood for
those who find metal unpleasant to the touch,
the presumed advantage of the all-wood chairs
was a greater uniformity of design. A single
material is used for both supporting and sup
ported elements. But because the seat and back
are molded in compound curves, their strength
and rigidity can be provided by conspicuously
thin sheets of plywood. The carrying struc
ture, being made of lengths of plywood bent in
one plane only, must be considerably thicker.
The resulting visual discrepancy contradicts
the intended simplification (40).
From Eames' point of view, it was finally
preferable to use two different materials-
wood and metal—for the two different func
tions being served, emphasizing the differences
rather than trying to minimize them.
Nevertheless, the all-wood chairs remain
among the most interesting of Eames' designs.
A further variation is the wood chair with
padding held in place by a veneer of leather
glued along the edges of the seat and back
panels (38).

38 LOW SIDE CHAIR. 1946.

Molded and bent birch plywood; laminated
leather and padding. 25%" h.
39 LOW SIDE CHAIR. 1946.
Molded and bent birch plywood. 2534" h.
40 DINING CHAIR. 1946.
Molded and bent birch plywood. 29%" h.

40
 Eames' experiments in molding plywood con
tinued from 1941 to 1948. The objective was
primarily the resolution of technical problems,
but aesthetics played an almost equally impor
tant part. Eames and his associates seldom
work from drawings; preliminary sketches,
according to Eames, have consisted mostly of
rough notes meant to indicate a general con
figuration. Designs are worked out at full
scale, the compound curves of seat and back
elements being developed over closely spaced
templates. This method allows frequent tests
for comfort, and construction drawings for
the metal molds that will later be required for
mass production are made from the templates
themselves.
Some of these experimental chairs were dis
carded for functional reasons. The three-
legged dining chair, like its metal-legged com
panions, tipped over too easily (41). Other
experiments, though functionally quite
satisfactory, were rejected either because the
shapes were not pleasing or because they were
too numerous and hence too expensive to pro
duce. In this latter category, the armchair
(43) and the lounge chair on a tubular metal
base (44) can now be seen as important stages
in the development of the leather-cushioned
armchair discussed on page 41. And even the
unpadded plywood chair on its precarious
metal perch (45) was subsequently developed
in two distinct versions.

26
44

41 , 42, 43 SIDE CHAIRS ; ARMCHAIR, c. 1944

Experimental designs in molded and bent ply
wood.
44 LOUNGE CHAIR, c. 1944
Experimental chair in molded plywood; canti-
levered steel tube base designed to tilt.
45 CHAISE, c. 1944
Experimental chair in molded plywood; tilting
base of metal rods and bars.

27
55

Eames was trained as an architect and opened

his own office in 1930. He and Eero Saarinen
designed a house for John Entenza in 1949 ; in
the same year an adjacent house was designed
by Eames for his own use. Both buildings were
in the series of Case Study Houses commis
sioned by Entenza for his magazine "Califor
nia Arts and Architecture". The Eames house
was among the most important buildings of
the years following World War II, but archi
tecture soon ceased to be Eames' major
interest.
The Eames approach to architecture in
volved a cheerful acceptance of mass-produced
materials. Stock window and door elements,
normally used in the construction of factor
ies, were combined with steel columns and
open web joists, all ordered from their manu
facturers' catalogs (55). Notwithstanding
minor modifications made to some of these
parts, the house is a collection of ready-mades
anticipating "The Whole Earth Catalog", that
compendium of engaging and oddly useful
products first published in 1968.
Architects and critics hailed Eames' house
for demonstrating a kind of pre-fabrication.
Filled with transparent and translucent glass,
and stucco or metal siding, the delicate steel
frames produce an effect of lightness similar
to that of a Japanese tea house (56). The
interior, crowded with toys, flowers, and fur
niture, has an air of playfulness not often
associated with architecture of industrial
origin (57). Eames' emphasis on structural
technique accorded well with the emerging in M<dk<4J
I 1J

fluence of Mies van der Rohe's steel and glass

buildings in Chicago, to which the house owed
some of its clarity. But the direction taken by
Mies was toward simplification, and the som
ber aspect of his structural forms moved
architecture away from whatever might seem
casual or arbitrary. Mies proceeded by sub
traction ; Eames by addition ; and the promis
ing lead given by the Eames house remains to
be explored.

EAMES HOUSE AND STUDIO, Santa Monica,

California. 1949.
55 East elevation of house and studio.
56 North elevation, house.
57 Living room ; bedrooms on balcony above.

33
 Eames had been considering the mass produc
tion of stamped aluminum or steel furniture
when, in 1948, The Museum of Modern Art
conducted an "International Competition for
Low-cost Furniture Design", directed by Ed
gar Kaufmann, Jr. "Metal stamping", Eames
said in the text accompanying his entry, "is
the technique synonymous with mass produc
tion in this country, yet 'acceptable' furniture
in this material is noticeably absent ... By
using forms that reflect the positive nature of
the stamping technique in combination with a
surface treatment that cuts down heat trans
fer, dampens sound, and is pleasant to the
touch, we feel it is possible to free metal fur
niture of the negative bias from which it has
suffered". The Eames entry, prepared with a
University of California team, shared second
prize for seating.
By 1950, when the results of the competi
tion were manufactured, published and exhib
58 LOW ARMCHAIR. 1950.
Molded polyester; wire; rubber shockmounts. ited, economical production of molded plastic,
23" h. rather than metal, had been set up by the
Herman Miller Furniture Company. The pub
59 ARMCHAIR, Rocker. 1950.
Molded polyester; wire; birch runners; rubber lished designs were of plastic, although the
shockmounts. 26%" h. metal versions were actually exhibited. The
switch from stamped metal to molded plastic
60 ARMCHAIR. 1950.
Molded polyester ; metal rod ; rubber shockmounts. required only minor design modifications—an
31%" h. interesting aside on "the nature of materials"
as a significant determinant of form. Conceiv
ably the same shapes could also have been
made of papier-mache or concrete; the only
visible variation induced by different mate
rials is the thickness of the edge.
Manufactured with legs either of metal rod
(60), or a kind of cat's-cradle of metal wire,
or wire with wood rockers (58, 59) , the chair
has been a remarkably serviceable object. Its
imitations suffer from the defects of the orig
inal : the visual relationship of the shell to any
kind of metal base is at best problematic. It is
perhaps most convincing in the low lounge
(58) . A side chair version without arms (62)
was also developed as a stacking chair (61)
and is a singularly compact and sturdy solu
tion to the problem of storage ; the same shape
was also made of bent wire with an uphol
stered pad in fabric or leather, making a
somewhat more unified design (63) .

SA 60
 The most amusing of Eames' experiments
with molded plastic is a one-piece chaise
(called La Chaise) intended to have a factory
price in 1948 of $27. The full-scale model (64,
65) is a stressed-skin shell which sandwiches
a dense core of foamed, hard rubber between
thin sheets of plastic. Variations in thickness
provide strength where needed. The gestural
quality of the shell is enhanced by its being
perched on a pedestal combining no less than

im three different groups of elements. It is ab

stract sculpture in which one might sit, pos
sibly quite comfortably.

mmM r
UtM»m
Miasms

61 SIDE CHAIR. 1955.

Molded polyester; zinc-coated steel tube; rubber
shockmounts; side hooks for stacking; nylon
61 glides. 31%" h.

62 63

36
 62 SIDE CHAIR. 1950.
Molded polyester; wire; rubber shockmounts.
31%" h.
63 SIDE CHAIR. 1951.
Formed black wire; padded tan leather. 32%" h.
64, 65 CHAISE (full-scale model) . 1948.
Prototype for a stressed-skin shell: hard rubber
foam between two layers of plastic. 32%" h.

37
 I

Most modern sofas are long, low, and heavy.

Some designers have preferred to handle them
as padded boxes resting squarely on the floor ;
some have preferred to perch them on light
legs ; many have preferred to avoid the prob
lem altogether. (Of the other major modern
furniture designers only Aalto and Breuer
have produced sofas.)
A conspicuous difference in the Eames de
sign is its high back, and the breaking of that
element into two horizontal slabs which fold
down for shipping. The design derives from a
built-in sofa in the seating alcove of Eames'
own house. There, however, a solid panel
closed the space between the seat and the floor.
The portable production version is carried
on square-sectioned chrome-plated steel legs,
with back supports of black-enameled steel
(67) . Perhaps because it originated as built-in
furniture— an extension of his architecture—
this design is uncharacteristically two-dimen
sional. Its configuration can be deduced from a
drawing of the side elevation alone, unlike the
compound curves of the molded wood chairs
which cannot be "read" from drawings but
must be seen in the round.
Meant primarily for office use and usually
upholstered in vinyl, the design takes on more
domestic connotations when covered in a tex
tured cloth, which accentuates the modelling
of its seat and back planes without making
them look industrially polished.
Unlike most Eames designs, this one has
not been modified to serve other standards of
comfort. There is no version with arms, nor
has Eames tried to develop the same config
uration with softer padding. In contrast to the
chrome legs, the armature-like black metal
supports have an unexpectedly utilitarian look
—unexpected since the sofa is designed to look
well from all sides—and the different profiles
used for the seat and back add another incon
sistency. Yet the complete image manages to
be at once svelte and Spartan ; and it remains
one of the few original solutions to a particu
larly difficult problem of furniture design.

38
 I

66, 67 SOFA. 1954.

Chrome-plated and black-enameled steel frame;
A" black fabric over foam padding. 34 X h. x 72" w.
"2d. x30y
Large seating units are most happily accom
modated in modern interiors when they look
architectural ; that is, when they are geo
metric, box-like constructions, acting as mas
sive foils to the lighter chairs which usually
accompany them. Although modern chairs are
68 LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN. 1956.
as comfortable as those available to polite 69 Molded rosewood plywood ; black leather cushions
society in the 18th century, few modern furni 70 with foam, down, and feather filling; black and
ture designers have been able to invent new polished aluminum base; swivel (chair only). 33"
forms for the kind of comfort provided only h. Ottoman ; 16" h.
by well-padded cushions in generous sizes.
Eames is the only designer to attempt a lounge
chair which would surpass in comfort any
thing an English club can offer, and to achieve
this comfort in formal terms consistent with
his lighter, more casual designs.
Made of more parts than most Eames chairs,
the lounge consists of three rosewood shells
padded with leather cushions. These are filled
with a mixture of down, latex foam, and grey
duck feathers. Padded arm rests are encased
in leather. The chair pivots on a five-pronged
base of black aluminum with polished top sur
faces; connectors supporting the two back
shells are of the same material (68) . An otto
man of similar design allows the chair to be
used almost as a chaise.
The design of the rosewood shells is decep
tive : curved across their width, they are fiat
on the longitudinal axis, and the combination
of straight and curved lines is skillfully echoed
in the metal fittings. Large enough to domi
nate any furniture grouping, but not too large
to be arranged in groups themselves, the
chair's rounded sculptural shape does not re
quire fixed, formal placement.
 Usually referred to as the "aluminum group",
the chairs Eames introduced in 1958 use the
thin, flat profile which first appeared in the
sofa (66). But here the seat and back are
made as one continuous plane slung between
structural ribs of die-cast aluminum. Elabo
rately designed, the structure consists of six
metal components in two different styles, with
more structural detail concealed within the
seat pad.
Perhaps the most interesting technical de
velopment is the seat itself, a "sandwich" con
sisting of front and back layers of fabric or
vinyl, and an inner layer of vinyl-coated nylon
fabric supporting a 14" thick layer of vinyl
foam. This combination of materials is welded
together through pressure and high frequency
current. The welds occur at 1%" intervals,
appearing as horizontal ribs or stripes on
both sides of the pad (73, 74) .
Cast in one piece, the side rib is modelled to
form a bar and flange, and terminates at each
end with a cylinder. Slipped into the flanges
and secured in place with concealed brass
nails, the seat pad wraps around the cylinders
but is not itself stiffened across its top and
bottom edges by any internal metal construc
tion.
The supporting pedestal repeats the theme
of flat bars and cylinders. It carries an inter
mediate stem of black steel, which in turn
supports another die-cast aluminum element
described as an "antler". This piece and a sim
ilar back brace are rounded shapes resembling
bones. Although employing a design vocabu
lary different from that of the bar and cylin
der, the scale of their curves and the similarity
in finish avoids discord. The addition of arms,
however, somewhat reduces coherence (71) .

, 73, 74 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1958.

Polished die-cast aluminum; black painted tube;
Naugahyde padded with vinyl foam. 35" h.
72 SIDE CHAIR. 1958.
Polished die-cast aluminum; black painted tube;
Naugahyde padded with vinyl foam. 33%" h.
LOUNGE CHAIR. 1958.
(Reclining high-back tilt-swivel chair.) Polished
die-cast aluminum; green fabric (or Naugahyde)
padded with vinyl foam. 39%" h.
77,78 MULTIPLE SEATING. 1962.
Five-seat unit: polished aluminum; black steel
bars; padded vinyl. 33%" h.
 An interesting variation is the secretary's
chair in which posture requirements produce
a jaunty and elegant profile. This chair, like
the others, is now available with a pedestal
modelled in the same sculptural idiom as the
antler and brace. A high-backed version of the
lounge chair, almost duplicating the propor
tions of the sofa, incorporates a box-like hous
ing for a tilt-swivel mechanism ; this piece of
hardware will be revised in a forthcoming
version (75) .
Tandem seating developed for use in air
ports combines a shaped arm and back with
shaped seat and leg elements, connected to
each other by flat steel bars coated black and
looking like hardware acquired from another
source. The interchangeable seat and back
pads are, again, sandwiches of heat-sealed
vinyl materials, the welds, however, being
distributed to make a lozenge pattern similar
to that used in oil cans or aluminum building
panels to increase their strength (78).
All of the aluminum group chairs are start-
lingly light and comfortable. Their comfort is
significantly increased by the addition of
leather cushions in the group called "soft pad"
chairs (80, 81). Similar in construction to
their predecessors, these versions offer one
seat and two or three back cushions filled with
polyester foam and sewn to the nylon fabric
support. The softer profile and surfaces relate
well to the structural shapes, and the design
regains consistency.

79,81 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1969.

Polished die-cast aluminum; foam-padded tan
leather cushions. 35 14" h.
80 SIDE CHAIR. 1969.
Polished die-cast aluminum ; foam-padded tan
leather cushions. 3314" h.

U6 81
The long, narrow planes of this chaise are
foreshadowed by some of the experimental
plywood chairs of the 1940s (45), but its
bone-like legs are part of a series of modifica
tions of the aluminum group structural com
ponents (72, 73).
The metal frame carries a stretched, plas-
ticized fabric, which in turn supports six
leather cushions connected to each other with
zippers. Additional loose cushions provide
head or body support. The narrow dimensions
and the lack of arms would seem to make re
pose almost mandatory ; this is one of Eames'
rare essays in form without function.
The padded leather swivel chair (82) is
meant for executive suites but was originally
developed for a semi-public reception area in a
New York office building. Unusually comfort
able, the chair has the interesting distinction
of having been chosen by Bobby Fischer (and
accepted by Boris Spassky) for use at the
Reykjavik chess tournament. It also intro
duced a shaped leg that was subsequently
adapted for several other chairs.
 82 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1960.
Polished aluminum; foam-padded tan leather
cushions. 32%"-34%" h. (adjustable)
83,84 CHAISE. 1968.
Nylon-coated aluminum; foam-padded black
leather cushions. 28%" h.
,
 Of all the modifications Eames has made to his
designs over a period of more than 30 years,
by far the most consequential has been the
addition of padded surfaces to chairs orig
inally conceived as hard, thin planes of molded
plywood or plastic. Padded surfaces (not il
lustrated) for the plastic shells of 1950 offer
increased comfort but neither diminish nor
enhance the design. But the padded version of
the 1946 plywood dining chair is so substan
tially altered in its appearance as to be virtu
ally a "new" design.
The major structural change is in materi
als : for this version seat and back shells are
of plastic rather than wood, and each shell
incorporates molded plastic housings contain
ing metal units to which the legs and back
support are bolted. An important visual
change results from the technique of padding
the plastic shells. Urethane foam is sand
wiched between the shell and a "skin" of fab
ric or vinyl ; the edges of the shells are then
bound with a thick vinyl welt whose dimen
sions approximate those of the metal rod sup
ports, thereby introducing a second set of
lines complementing those of the legs. The
combined modifications make lines visually
more important than planes, although the new
emphasis on soft surfaces is what occasioned
the change.

85,86 SIDE CHAIR. 1969.

Molded polyester; steel rods; padded Naugahyde
with vinyl binding. 29%" h.
 Although this chair might appear to be a pad
ded version of the original 1950 plastic shell,
its proportions differ from that design in two
significant ways. The back support is 6"higher
and makes up at least half the height of the
entire shell ; and the modelling of the inside
back surface incorporates a reverse curve at
its base, providing much firmer support. In
addition, the chair's proportions are designed
to include a loose seat cushion.
Technically, this chair is among Eames'
most sophisticated and carefully studied pro
ductions. Its plastic shell receives a formed-
in-place urethane foam padding, covered, like
the upholstered side chair, by a vinyl or fabric
skin. Dents in this material slowly disappear,
the urethane having a "memory" for its orig
inal contours. A fabric or leather covering
must be stitched; in vinyl the form is un
broken by this distracting detail, and every
modulation of its curved surface is empha
sized.
The padding varies in thickness from %" to
3", and its mass is suggested by the rolled
edge of the shell (88). As in the upholstered
side chair, a thick vinyl edge binding provides
a strong outline, but in this case it relates only
marginally to the linear quality of the base,
which is the shaped aluminum design origi
nally developed for the office lounge chair and
later adapted for other models (82).
Sleek, polished, impeccably detailed, the
molded and padded shell of this chair suggests
the world of aviation. It also manages to be
at once precise and voluptuous, and seems to
convey as much of the mood or image of its
day as the plywood furniture did in the
'forties.

87, 88, 89 ARMCHAIR. 1971.

Molded polyester; aluminum base; padded Nau-
gahyde with vinyl binding; loose cushion. 32" h.

52 89
Photographers' credits: All photos by Stan Reis except as 80 SIDE CHAIR. 1969. (154.73)
follows: Alfred Auerbach Associates, 59; George Barrows, Polished die cast aluminum; black painted tube; tan
17-20, 63; Charles Eames, 28-9, 34, 41-2, 44-5, 48-9, 55, 58, leather cushions with polyester foam padding; nylon
61-2, 77-8; Samuel Gottscho, 1; Herman Miller Inc., 27; glides. 33%" h. x 21" w. x 22%" d.
Museum of Modern Art, 15, 21, 47; Herbert Matter, 37; Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
Julius Shulman, 56-7; Soichi Sunami, 2-14, 31-3, 35-6, 38, 43. 85 SIDE CHAIR. 1969. (155.73)
Research: Mary Jane Lightbown. Black molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers;
chrome-plated steel rod; imbedded T-nut studs; off-
The Museum acknowledges with gratitude the generous
white Naugahyde with polyurethane foam padding;
assistance of Charles and Ray Eames in the preparation of
black vinyl edge binding; nylon glides. 29%" h. x 19%"
this catalog and the exhibition it accompanies. We are also
w . x 21%" d .
grateful to Herman Miller Inc. for their many gifts to the
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
Design Collection; and to Robert Blaich and John Buglisi
for assistance in research and photography. 38 LOW SIDE CHAIR. 1946. (64.46)
Molded and bent birch plywood; tan padded leather
laminated to wood; rubber shockmounts. 25%" h. x
22%" w. x 25%" d.
Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
CATALOG 39 LOW SIDE CHAIR. 1946. (SC 102.73)
Molded and bent birch plywood; rubber shockmounts.
The check list includes all works by Charles Eames in the 25%" h. x 22%" w. x 25" d.
Museum's Design Collection. Illustration numbers are given Manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
in the margin. Details of construction refer to the example 29 LOW SIDE CHAIR. 1946. (156.73)
in the Collection; earlier or later production may differ. The Molded walnut plywood; chrome-plated steel rod; rub
date accompanying each entry indicates when the object ber shockmounts; nylon glides. 27%" h. x 22%" w. x
was first manufactured; some examples in the Collection 25%" d.
are current production. Accession numbers, given in paren Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
theses, do not necessarily correspond to dates of design or
manufacture. The letters SC indicate Study Collection. SIDE CHAIR. 1940. With Eero Saarinen. (842.42)
Molded plywood; fabric; sponge rubber padding. 33" h.
x 18" w. x 21 %" d.
SIDE CHAIRS Manufacturer: Haskelite Mfg. Corp. and Heywood-
24 DINING CHAIR. 1946. (553.53; 80.48) Wakefield Co. Purchase. First prize for seating,
53 Molded walnut (also ash) plywood; steel rod; rubber "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition,
shockmounts; rubber and metal glides. 29%" h. x 20%" MOMA. 1941.
w. x 21 %" d. 33 SIDE CHAIR, Three-legged, c. 1944. (67.46)
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. Molded plywood stained red; metal rod; single back
40 DINING CHAIR. 1946. (70.46) leg of doubled rod; rubber shockmounts; rubber glides.
Molded and bent birch plywood; rubber shockmounts. 29%" h.x 19" w. x 22%" d.
29%" h. x 19" w. x 21%" d. Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co. SIDE CHAIR, Three-legged, c. 1944. (66.46)
62 SIDE CHAIR. 1950. (SC 100.73) Molded plywood stained black; metal rod lacquered
Yellow molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; black; rubber shockmounts; rubber glides. 30" h. x 19"
wire struts; rubber shockmounts; metal glides. 31%" w. x 22 %" d.
h.x 18%" w.x22" d. Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. 34 SIDE CHAIR, Three-legged, c. 1944. (65.46)
Gift of Charles Eames. Molded canaletta plywood; metal rod lacquered black;
63 SIDE CHAIR. 1951. (217.53) rubber shockmounts; rubber glides. 29%" h. x 19" w. x
Formed black wire; padded tan leather; metal glides. 20" d.
32%" h. x 18%" w. x 20%" d. Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. 35 SIDE CHAIR, Tilt-back. c. 1944. (69.46)
SIDE CHAIR. 1951. (218.53) Molded plywood; single and double metal rods; rubber
Formed wire; wood legs; beige tweed fabric pads; shockmounts; rubber glides. 25%" h. x 20" w. x 29" d.
swivel mount. 32%" h. x 19" w. x 20%" d. Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. 36 SIDE CHAIR, Tilt-back. c. 1944. (68.46)
61 SIDE CHAIR, Stacking. 1955. (SC 101.73) Molded walnut plywood; steel bars and rods lacquered
Red molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; zinc- black; rubber shockmounts; rubber glides. 26" h. x
coated steel tube; rubber shockmounts; side hooks for 21%" w. x 28%" d.
stacking; nylon glides. 31%" h. x 23%" w. x 21%" d. Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. SIDE CHAIR (full-scale model) . 1948. With University
72 SIDE CHAIR. 1958. (153.73) of California Team. (SC 31.50)
Polished die cast aluminum; black painted tube; char Neoprene-coated aluminum shell, painted yellow; alu
coal Naugahyde padded with vinyl foam; nylon glides. minum pedestal. 30" h. x 17%" w. x 20%" d.
33%" h. x 21" w. x 22%" d. Co-winner of second prize for seating, International
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. Competition for Low-Cost Furniture, MOMA. 1948.

5-4
 SIDE CHAIR (full-scale model) . 1948. With University 50 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1958. (148.58)
of California Team. (SC 32.50) 73 Polished die cast aluminum; black painted tube; char
Neoprene-coated aluminum shell, painted black; wood coal Naugahyde padded with vinyl foam; nylon glides.
legs. 31" h. x 17%" w. x 20" d. 35" h. x 22" w. x 27" d.
Co-winner of second prize for seating, International Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
Competition for Low-Cost Furniture, MOMA. 1948. 75 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1958. (SC 104.73 a-b)
Polished die cast aluminum; green fabric padded with
ARMCHAIRS vinyl foam; steel tilt/ swivel mechanism; nylon glides.
39%" h. x 23" w. x 30" d.
60 ARMCHAIR. 1950. (448.56) Ottoman. Materials same as above. 18" h. x 21%" w. x
White molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; 21%" d.
metal tube; rubber shockmounts; plastic glides. 31 14" Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
h. x 24%" w. x 23%" d. 79 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1969. (SC 105.73)
Manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. Polished die cast aluminum frame and arms; tan
Gift of Elaine Lustig. leather cushions with polyester foam padding; nylon
ARMCHAIR. 1950. (267.58) glides. 35%" h. x 25%" w. x 27%" d.
White molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
wire struts; rubber shockmounts; plastic glides. 3014" 81 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1969. (158.73)
h. x 25" w. x 23%" d. Polished die cast aluminum; tan leather cushions with
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. polyester foam padding; nylon glides. 35%" h. x 24%"
59 ARMCHAIR, Rocker. 1950. (349.50) w. x 27%" d.
Gray molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
wire; birch runners; rubber shockmounts. 26%" h. x 82 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1960. (SC 109.73)
25" w. x 26%" d. Polished aluminum frame and arms; tan leather cush
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. ions and arm rests with foam padding; steel tilt/swivel
58 LOW ARMCHAIR. 1950. (350.50) mechanism; adjustable base; nylon glides. 32%"-34%"
Beige molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; h. x 26%" w. x 27" d.
wire cage; rubber shockmounts. 23" h. x 24%" w. x Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
2" 24V d. 83 CHAISE. 1968. (SC 110.73)
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. Eggplant nylon-coated aluminum frame; stretched
ARMCHAIR (full-scale model). 1948. With University plasticized fabric sheet supports six black leather cush
of California Team. (SC 33.50) ions connected by zippers; polyester foam padding.
Neoprene-coated aluminum shell, painted gray; metal 28%" h. x 75" w. x 17%" d.
rod. 29" h. x 27%" w. x 2414" d. Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
Co-winner of second prize for seating, International LOUNGE CHAIR. 1940. With Eero Saarinen. (840.42)
Competition for Low-Cost Furniture, MOMA. 1948. Molded plywood; fabric; sponge rubber padding. 33"
ARMCHAIR, Rocker (full-scale model). 1948. With h. x 29%" w. x 26" d. Manufacturer: Haskelite Mfg.
University of California Team. (SC 34.50) Corp. and Hey wood- Wakefield Co. Purchase. First prize
Neoprene-coated aluminum shell, painted brown; metal for seating, "Organic Design in Home Furnishings"
rod; wood runners. 28%" h. x 27%" w. x 27%" d. competition, MOMA. 1941.
Co-winner of second prize for seating, International LOUNGE CHAIR. 1940. With Eero Saarinen. (841.42)
Competition for Low-Cost Furniture, MOMA. 1948. Molded plywood; fabric; sponge rubber padding. 42%"
51 ARMCHAIR. 1971. (157.73) h. x 32%" w. x 31%" d. Manufacturer: Haskelite Mfg.
87 Black molded polyester reinforced with glass fibers; Corp. and Heywood-Wakefield Co. Purchase. First prize
polished aluminum base; black painted tube; beige for seating, "Organic Design in Home Furnishings"
Naugahyde with ure thane foam padding; black vinyl competition, MOMA. 1941.
edge binding; loose hopsack cushion; swivel mecha 44 LOUNGE CHAIR, Tilt-back. c. 1944. (160.73)
nism; nylon glides. 32" h. x 26" w. x 28"d. Molded plywood with metal rod. 28" h. x 30%" w. x
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. 31" d.
Gift of Charles Eames.
LOUNGE CHAIRS 64 CHAISE (full-scale model). 1948. (SC 106.73)
54 LOUNGE CHAIR and OTTOMAN. 1956. (336.60 a-b) Prototype for a stressed-skin shell: hard rubber foam
between two layers of plastic, painted gray; wood and
69 Molded rosewood plywood; black leather cushions with
latex foam, feathers and down filling; flexible alumi metal rod base. 32%" h. x 59" w. x 34%" d.
num connectors; black and aluminum swivel base; rub Gift of Charles Eames.
ber shockmounts; metal glides. 33" h. x 33%" w. x 33" d.
Ottoman. Materials same as above. 16" h. x 26" w.x21"d. MULTIPLE SEATING
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.
52 SOFA. 1954. (450.56)
71 LOUNGE CHAIR. 1958. (SC 103.73) 66 Black-enameled steel frame; chrome-plated steel legs;
Polished die cast aluminum frame and arms; black interlinked flat steel springs; black fabric with foam
painted tube; charcoal Naugahyde padded with vinyl padded seat and back; stainless steel glides. 34%" h. x
foam; nylon glides. 34%" h. x 25%" w. x 27%" d. 72" w. x30%" d.
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc.

55
 77 MULTIPLE SEATING. 1962 (SC 107.73) DRAWINGS
Five-seat unit: individual seat and back cushions sus
pended between polished aluminum frames secured to a 3-10 COMPETITION DRAWINGS. 1940. With Eero Saar-
continuous black epoxy-finished steel T-beam; steel inen. (861-870.42)
connector bar; interchangeable black vinyl pads; vinyl Ten first prize designs submitted for "Organic Design
foam padding; padded arm rests; plastic glides. 33%" in Home Furnishings" competition, MOMA. 1941. Side
h. x 117%" w. x 28" d. chair; easy chair; conversation chair; relaxation
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. chair; sofa unit; lounging shape; coffee table; cabinet
units; radio-record player-bar unit. Colored pencil,
TABLES wood veneer and paper cut-outs on white poster board.
20" x 30".
37 COFFEE TABLE. 1946. (159.73) COMPETITION DRAWINGS. 1948. With University
Molded plywood circular tray top; three metal legs; of California Team. (SC 35-43.50)
shockmounts; metal glides. 15%" h. x 34%" dia. Seven panels, co-winner second prize for seating, Inter
Manufacturer: Evans Products Co. national Competition for Low-Cost Furniture, MOMA.
Gift of Charles Eames. 1948. Assorted designs for molded shell seating. Photo
49 FOLDING DINING TABLE. 1947. (SC 108.73) graphs and ink drawings on white poster board. 20"
White plastic top on wood; folding metal legs. 28%" h. x 30".
x 33%" w. x 53%" 1. By Charles Eames alone: two panels, design for plas
Gift of the manufacturer: Herman Miller Inc. tic chaise in stressed-skin construction.

STORAGE
1 STORAGE CABINETS. 1940. With Eero Saarinen.
(853-860.42)
Eight wood cabinets, Honduras mahogany veneer; all
18" or 36" wide; 22" high and 18" deep; with varying
arrangements of drawers and shelves; designed to rest
on 13" high benches.
Manufacturer: Red Lion Table Co. Purchase. First
prize, Living Room Furniture, "Organic Design in
Home Furnishings" competition, MOMA. 1941.
1 BENCHES. 1940. With Eero Saarinen. (850-852.42)
Three wood benches, Honduras mahogany veneer; 13"
high and 18" deep; lengths are 36", 54" and 72"; hold
ing two, three and four cabinets (see above).
Manufacturer: Red Lion Table Co. Purchase. First
prize, Living Room Furniture, "Organic Design in
Home Furnishings" competition, MOMA. 1941.

MISCELLANEOUS
BENCH. 1946. (63.46)
Birch top; demountable molded plywood legs. 12" h. x
16" w. x 54%" 1.
Gift of the manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
46 FOLDING SCREEN. 1946. (79.48)
Molded ash plywood in 9%" sections; canvas joints.
68" h. x 60" 1.
Manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of Herman Miller Inc.
16 LEG SPLINT. 1942. (SC 24.50)
Molded plywood. 4%" h. x 7%" w. x 41%" 1.
Manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of Charles Eames.
CHILD'S CHAIR, c. 1944. (82.48)
Molded plywood stained red. 14%" h. x 14%" w. x 11" d.
Manufacturer: Evans Products Co.
Gift of Herman Miller Inc.

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