Eileen Gray

Neglected for most of her career, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) is now regarded as one of the most important furniture designers and architects of the early 20th century and the most influential woman in those fields. Her work inspired both modernism and Art Deco. Eileen Gray was to "stand alone" throughout her career, first as a lacquer artist, then a furniture designer, and finally as an architect. At a time when other leading designers were almost all male and mostly members of one movement or another -whether a loose grouping like De Stijl in the Netherlands or a formal one such as the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne-she remained staunchly independent. Her design style was as distinctive as her way of working, and Gray developed an opulent, luxuriant take on geometric forms and industrially produced materials used by the International Style designers, such as Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Mies Van der Rohe, who shared many of her ideals. Her voluptuous leather and tubular steel Bibendum Chair and clinically chic E-1027 glass and tubular steel table are now icons of the International Style. SELLING POINTS: * In addition to an introductory essay, this book analyses the main designs of these key modern architects through sketches, drawings, photos of the original works, and shots of period settings * A full illustrated chronology of all the featured works completes each volume. Reflecting the series' focus on design, special attention has been paid to the layout and binding, making these books designer objects in their own right. 180 illustrations