Pair of Bibendum Armchairs by Eileen Gray
About the Item
- Creator:Eileen Gray (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 36.75 in (93.35 cm)Depth: 34.5 in (87.63 cm)Seat Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Late 20th Century
- Condition:Overall this pair is in good, to very good condition. Chrome frame has pitting to the top portion of the tubular construction. Scattered scuffs and abrasions exist throughout the bases.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:
Eileen Gray
Designer, artist and architect Eileen Gray was one of the most fascinating creative figures of the 20th century. Her body of work includes lustrous lacquered pieces — her Dragons chair set an auction record for modern furniture ($28 million) at the 2009 sale of the Yves Saint Laurent estate — and sleek chrome furnishings that rival the work of Le Corbusier and the members of the Bauhaus as exemplars of pure, modernist design.
The independent and unconventional daughter of Irish landed gentry, Gray studied painting at London’s Slade School of Fine Art in her early twenties before moving to Paris in 1906 to pursue her artistic dreams. Gray had become captivated by lacquerware after seeing an exhibit in the Victoria & Albert Museum, and in Paris persuaded an expatriate Japanese master of the painstaking process, Seizo Sugawara, to teach her. Within a few years, Gray had become known among the cognoscenti for her sculptural lacquered furnishings, which she incorporated into the homes of interior design clients.
Gray was ever evolving as a designer. By the early 1920s she was creating geometric works that embodied the essence of Art Deco and the nascent modernist design movement. Some pieces — such as her Bricks screen, an assemblage of pivoting rectangular panels — employ the planar forms favored by Gerrit Rietveld and other De Stijl architects of the Netherlands. Others feature the tubular chrome framing used by Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. These include the Bibendum chair — named for the resemblance of its semicircular back and armrest to the character known in English as the Michelin Man — and the adjustable E 1027 side table, conceived in 1927 for the interiors of a stark white villa she designed for herself in the South of France.
Never a self-promoter, Gray drifted out of the limelight in the 1930s. Interest in her work was revived in the early ’70s, however, when the estates of her early clients came to auction. Her original lacquer pieces are the most coveted, but, as the sale of the Dragons chair shows, are rare and extremely expensive.
None of Gray’s designs were made in large numbers until, a few years before her death, she granted a production license. These pieces range in price from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on furniture type and condition. Gray’s work has become iconic of practical and elegant modernist design. Yet, as you will see on 1stDibs, many of her creations have a simplicity that makes them welcome even in a traditional setting.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Chicago, IL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Pair of Tito Agnoli ArmchairsBy Poltrona Frau, Tito AgnoliLocated in Chicago, ILMade by: Poltrona Frau, Italy, 1987 Material: leather Size: 24.5 W × 24 D × 33 H in seat height 18 inches Signed with impressed manufacturer's mark to reverse: [Poltrona Frau]. Si...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Armchairs
MaterialsLeather
- Pair of Teve Chairs by Alf SvenssonBy Alf SvenssonLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Teve chairs by Alf Svensson. Aluminum manufacturer's label to underside of each example ‘Studio Ljungs Industrier AB Bra Bohag’. Additional in...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Chairs
MaterialsSheepskin
- Pair of Simone Chair by William Stuart for CostantiniBy CostantiniLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Simone chairs by William Stuart Made by Costantini, United States, 2009 Material: Engineered macassar ebony, walnut, rosewood, leather ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Macassar, Rosewood, Walnut
- Pair of Divina Lounge Chairs by Arne Norell, circa 1965Located in Chicago, ILPair of Divina lounge chairs by Arne Norell, circa 1965. Made by Norell Möbel, Sweden, circa 1965. Additional information: Material: upholstery, beech. Size: 36 width × 30.5 ...Category
20th Century Swedish Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Pair Cantilevered Lounge Chairs by Joseph D'UrsoBy DonghiaLocated in Chicago, ILMade in: USA Material: upholstery, chrome-plated steel Size: 26 W × 33 D × 35?½ H in Description: Applied silk manufacturer's label to underside of each example ‘Donghia’. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Set of Four Dining Chairs by Niels O. MøllerBy Neils O. MöllerLocated in Chicago, ILSet off four dining chairs by Niels O. Møller Impressed manufacturer's mark to underside of two examples ‘JL Møller Models Made in Denmark’ with im...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
- Customizable ClassiCon Bibendum Lounge Armchair by Eileen GrayBy Eileen GrayLocated in New York, NYBibendum is one of a kind. Nowhere in the history of design will one find an armchair that compares to this. It is captivatingly harmonious despite its size and unites a majestic imp...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Leather, Textile
- Customizable ClassiCon Bibendum Lounge Armchair by Eileen GrayBy Eileen GrayLocated in New York, NYBibendum is one of a kind. Nowhere in the history of design will one find an armchair that compares to this. It is captivatingly harmonious despite its size and unites a majestic imp...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Leather, Textile
- Customizable ClassiCon Bibendum Lounge Chair by Eileen GrayBy Eileen GrayLocated in New York, NYBibendum is one of a kind. Nowhere in the history of design will one find an armchair that compares to this. It is captivatingly harmonious despite its size and unites a majestic imp...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Customizable ClassiCon Bibendum Lounge Chair by Eileen GrayBy Eileen GrayLocated in New York, NYBibendum is one of a kind. Nowhere in the history of design will one find an armchair that compares to this. It is captivatingly harmonious despite its size and unites a majestic imp...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Leather, Fabric
- Eileen Gray, Safari Chair / AuthenticBy Eileen GrayLocated in Zürich, CH"Safari" armchair designed by Eileen Gray. It has cylindrical base and grey painted wood structure. Armrests, seat and tilting back are made in leather. Piece is authentic and made a...Category
Vintage 1930s Dutch De Stijl Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Classicon Red Velvet Bibendum Lounge Chair by Eileen Gray in STOCKBy Eileen GrayLocated in New York, NYBibendum is one of a kind. Eileen Gray underscored the character of her endearing prior lion with sly irony; she named it after the Michelin man, whose form this armchair calls to mi...Category
2010s German Modern Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Eileen Gray’s Famed Cliffside Villa in the South of France Is Returned to Its Modernist Glory
After years of diligent restoration, E-1027, the designer-cum-architect’s marriage of romance and modernism, is finally complete.
Eileen Gray’s Deco Designs Launched Modernism. That Was Just the Beginning
Decades after her death, appreciation for the legendary designer and architect's work continues to flourish.