CHARLES EAMES (U.S.A., 1907 - 1978) & RAY EAMES (U.S.A., 1912 - 1988).
"Coffee table "Elliptical ETR", original design from 1950.
Plywood table top, high-pressure laminate surface. Chrome-plated steel cable base.
With Vitra label. Edition 2006.
Slight marks of use in the centre of the table top and small corner scratches.
Measurements: 26 x 225 x 75 cm.
The ETR coffee table, designed by Charles and Ray Eames was named by popular culture as Surfboard table, due to the curved shapes of the table top. In this case the piece, which has a chromed steel base, is topped with a black plywood tabletop.
Charles and Ray Ames, a married couple and artistic couple, worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film, and are responsible for numerous designs that have become twentieth-century classics. Charles Eames studied architecture for two years at the University of Washington, then began his career working in a studio on residential housing projects. In 1938 he moved to Cranbrook, Michigan, to continue studying architecture and design at the city's Academy of Art. He eventually became a teacher there, heading the industrial design department. Together with Eero Saarinen, the son of his teacher Eliel Saarinen, he designed the trophy for the Organic Design Prize, awarded by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1941, after divorcing his first wife, he married his colleague at Cranbrook, 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", 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 fibreglass and plastic resin in the manufacture of chairs. They are currently represented in the Design Museum in London and the MoMA in New York, among many others.