Eileen Gray. Adjustable tables E 1027 for ClassiCon
EILEEN GRAY (Enniscorthy, Ireland, 1878-Paris, 1976) for CLASSICON.
Pair of height-adjustable side tables, model E 1027. Design 1927.
Chrome-plated tubular steel frame. Transparent glass top.
Made at ClassiCon.
With identification numbers.
Stock photo. Tables are unused in original packaging.
Its distinctive and ingeniously proportioned form has made this height-adjustable table one of the most popular design icons of the 20th century. It is named after the E 1027 "Maison en bord de mer" summer house that Eileen Gray built for herself and her collaborator, Jean Badovici. The secret code name also comes from her: E is for Eileen, 10 for Jean (J is the tenth letter of the alphabet), 2 for B (Badovici) and 7 for G (Bray).
Eileen Gray studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1898 to 1902, while learning the art of lacquering in the furniture workshop of D. Charles in Dean Street. He visited Paris for the first time in 1900 and between 1902 and 1905 attended classes at the École Colarossi and the Académie Julian. In 1907 he settled in Paris, in an apartment on Rue Bonaparte, which would be his home until his death in 1976. During his stay in France he learned Japanese lacquer techniques from the craftsman Seizo Sougarawa. Around 1910 he began designing lacquered screens and panels with figurative motifs and in 1913 he exhibited his work at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, where his designs attracted the attention of the couturier and art collector Jacques Doucet. She became his main client and completed several commissions for him, such as the four-panel screen Le Destin (1914) and the Lotus table (1915), before her work was interrupted by World War I. In 1915 Eileen Gray moved to London with the craftsman Sougarawa, where she lived for two years. In 1917 she returned to Paris and two years later received her first major commission, an apartment for Mme Mathieu Lévy in Rue Lota, for which she designed her famous lacquered block screens. In 1922, after having carried out several commissions for important clients in Art Deco style, Eileen Gray opened her store, the Galerie Jean Désert. That same year she exhibited her work in Amsterdam with the architect De Stijl Jan Wils. The Dutch avant-garde received with admiration her design for a "bedroom dresser for Monte Carlo" originally exhibited at the 1923 Salon de Artistes Décorateurs. This admiration was reciprocated when Gray attended an exhibition of Dutch design in Paris that same year. Her work from this event reflected a clear geometric influence of De Stijl. In 1924 Eileen Gray and architect Jean Badovici took a trip to see modern architecture and he convinced her to take up architecture. This became the Irish designer's most brilliant period. In 1926 Gray designed one of the most important houses of the Modern Movement, the E 1027 for which she created some of her timeless designs such as the Transat Chair (1925) or her famous E 1027 table (1927) of tubular steel and glass. In 1929 he created one of his most recognized designs in the Bibendum armchair whose silhouette was based on the Michelin doll. Between 1930 and 1931 he designed the interior plans for Badovici's own apartment on Rue Chateaubriand, and then another house for his own use, the Tempe a Pailla in Castella, which he completed in 1934. The last project was an exhibition held at the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux designed by Le Corbusier in 1937 and the presentation of a project for the Centre de Vacances that was never realized. From then on Eileen Gray faded into the background until the 1970s, where her designs acquired a remarkable fame until today.
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EILEEN GRAY (Enniscorthy, Ireland, 1878-Paris, 1976) for CLASSICON.
Pair of height-adjustable side tables, model E 1027. Design 1927.
Chrome-plated tubular steel frame. Transparent glass top.
Made at ClassiCon.
With identification numbers.
Stock photo. Tables are unused in original packaging.
Its distinctive and ingeniously proportioned form has made this height-adjustable table one of the most popular design icons of the 20th century. It is named after the E 1027 "Maison en bord de mer" summer house that Eileen Gray built for herself and her collaborator, Jean Badovici. The secret code name also comes from her: E is for Eileen, 10 for Jean (J is the tenth letter of the alphabet), 2 for B (Badovici) and 7 for G (Bray).
Eileen Gray studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1898 to 1902, while learning the art of lacquering in the furniture workshop of D. Charles in Dean Street. He visited Paris for the first time in 1900 and between 1902 and 1905 attended classes at the École Colarossi and the Académie Julian. In 1907 he settled in Paris, in an apartment on Rue Bonaparte, which would be his home until his death in 1976. During his stay in France he learned Japanese lacquer techniques from the craftsman Seizo Sougarawa. Around 1910 he began designing lacquered screens and panels with figurative motifs and in 1913 he exhibited his work at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, where his designs attracted the attention of the couturier and art collector Jacques Doucet. She became his main client and completed several commissions for him, such as the four-panel screen Le Destin (1914) and the Lotus table (1915), before her work was interrupted by World War I. In 1915 Eileen Gray moved to London with the craftsman Sougarawa, where she lived for two years. In 1917 she returned to Paris and two years later received her first major commission, an apartment for Mme Mathieu Lévy in Rue Lota, for which she designed her famous lacquered block screens. In 1922, after having carried out several commissions for important clients in Art Deco style, Eileen Gray opened her store, the Galerie Jean Désert. That same year she exhibited her work in Amsterdam with the architect De Stijl Jan Wils. The Dutch avant-garde received with admiration her design for a "bedroom dresser for Monte Carlo" originally exhibited at the 1923 Salon de Artistes Décorateurs. This admiration was reciprocated when Gray attended an exhibition of Dutch design in Paris that same year. Her work from this event reflected a clear geometric influence of De Stijl. In 1924 Eileen Gray and architect Jean Badovici took a trip to see modern architecture and he convinced her to take up architecture. This became the Irish designer's most brilliant period. In 1926 Gray designed one of the most important houses of the Modern Movement, the E 1027 for which she created some of her timeless designs such as the Transat Chair (1925) or her famous E 1027 table (1927) of tubular steel and glass. In 1929 he created one of his most recognized designs in the Bibendum armchair whose silhouette was based on the Michelin doll. Between 1930 and 1931 he designed the interior plans for Badovici's own apartment on Rue Chateaubriand, and then another house for his own use, the Tempe a Pailla in Castella, which he completed in 1934. The last project was an exhibition held at the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux designed by Le Corbusier in 1937 and the presentation of a project for the Centre de Vacances that was never realized. From then on Eileen Gray faded into the background until the 1970s, where her designs acquired a remarkable fame until today.
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