The Eames Lounge Chair: An Icon of Modern Design

This book is the first in-depth study of one of the most revered pieces of American furniture, and its equally revered creators. The Eames Lounge Chair explores the design in detail, shedding new light on its development and construction, and on the role played by Ray Eames in its genesis. In situating the Lounge Chair in its cultural, social, and historical contexts, the book reveals its provocative positioning in relation to Modernism and the trajectory of twentieth century design, through its combination of traditional and modern materials, mechanical production, and hand-finishing. The personal and professional recollections of those who knew Charles and Ray Eames confirm the Lounge Chair's enduring appeal and powerful presence, from its arrival - to critical acclaim - in the mid-1950s, when it promised a more comfortable life to postwar Americans, to its latterday appearance in fiction and film as an icon of "Mid-Century Modern" design - and a key indicator of design awareness.
With more than two hundred illustrations, including a superb photographic essay and previously unpublished drawings, film stills, and personal correspondence, this book is the definitive survey of the Lounge Chair and a tribute to its remarkable creators, who, above all, "took their pleasures seriously." The Eames Lounge Chair is essential reading for anyone interested in Modernist design.

Martin Eidelberg is professor emeritus of art history at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Thomas Hilne is a social, cultural and design historian and critic. Pat Kirkham is a professor at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York. David Hanks is consulting curator for design at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan. C.Ford Peatross is curator of the Architecture, Design, and Engineering Collections, Prints and Photographs Division, at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.