Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray was born in Wexford in 1878. She studied at the Slade School of Art in London and the Académie Julian in Paris where she lived for most of her life. Gray collaborated with Seizo Sugawara, a Japanese expert in decorative lacquer work for several years. In 1910 Gray opened a workshop with Sugawara to develop their lacquer work and another workshop with Evelyn Wyld to develop tapestry weaving. Over several years, Gray designed furnishings and furniture including lacquered wall panels, tables and chairs. In 1922, she opened a shop Galerie Jean Désert which specialised in luxury furnishings and carpets. Gray collaborated with architect Jean Badovici on the seaside villa E-1027 in the South of France which was one of several architectural projects undertaken by Gray.Her reputation receded in the latter part of her life; However, she was rediscovered in the late 1960s.

In November 1972, at the auction of Jacques Doucet’s collection at the Hôtel Drouot, her screen Le Destin realised a record price. This revived a global interest in her work which still continues since 24 February 2009 after the Serpent chair fetched a world record price at auction. Collectors vie to own her furniture; historians compete to document her life. Many theses, articles, publications, catalogues raisonné and exhibitions examine the artist, designer, architect, her oeuvre, her buildings and her legacy. Some emphatically authenticate her work while others refute it. Collections of Gray’s work exist in museums and private collections across the world. Of those who met her towards the end of her life, some got to know her, while others assumed they did. During her later years Gray attempted, and mostly succeeded in destroying her personal papers, as she wanted to be remembered for her designs and her architecture rather than her personal history.

Works Cited

Constant, Caroline. “E. 1027: The Nonheroic Modernism of Eileen Gray.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 53.3 (1994): 265-79. Print.

Moore, Rowan. “Eileen Gray’s E1027: A Lost Legend of 20th-century Architecture Is Resurrected.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 02 May, 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2020.

Goff, Jennifer. Eileen Gray: Her Work and Her World. United States: Irish Academic, 2014. Print. ISBN 9780716533122.