Charles and Ray Eames DAX armchair by Herman Miller
About the Item
- Creator:Herman Miller (Manufacturer),Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Design:Eames DAX ChairEames Shell Chairs Series
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 24.02 in (61 cm)Depth: 24.02 in (61 cm)Seat Height: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Athens, GR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6596228172382
Eames DAX Chair
The scooped form of the revolutionary single-shell Eames molded fiberglass armchair — of which the Eames DAX chair is a variation — is ubiquitous in interior design today, found everywhere from restaurants to private homes to offices. In 1948, American designers Charles and Ray Eames (1907–78; 1912–88) conceptualized a lounge chair comprising two bonded fiberglass shells as well as a molded fiberglass armchair for the Museum of Modern Art’s International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design in New York City. The latter took second prize, and the Eames molded fiberglass armchair as we know it was born and brought to market two years later.
Charles and Ray met at Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art, a breeding ground for some of the best-known mid-century modern designers in America. They collaborated on various projects before getting married in 1941. After establishing the Eames Office in Los Angeles, California, Charles and Ray would garner universal renown for their pioneering work in architecture, film, graphic design and furniture, producing timeless designs in their lounge chair, DCW chair and many more.
Partly an evolution of the molded plywood experimentation conducted by Charles and Eero Saarinen — with lesser heralded assistance from Ray — the Eames fiberglass armchair system featured a fiberglass-reinforced plastic seat positioned atop a variety of bases. DAX is an acronym for Dining (D) Armchair (A) on X-Base (X), referring to the height of the chair, the style of the chair’s body and the base of the chair. Today Eames DAX chairs, supported by a four-legged tubular steel base, are manufactured by Herman Miller and Vitra, both of which produce a fiberglass model as well as a polypropylene version.
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Eames and Ray Eames were the embodiment of the inventiveness, energy and optimism at the heart of mid-century modern American design, and have been recognized as the most influential designers of the 20th century.
As furniture designers, filmmakers, artists, textile and graphic designers and even toy and puzzle makers, the Eameses were a visionary and effective force for the notion that design should be an agent of positive change. They are the happy, ever-curious, ever-adventurous faces of modernism.
Charles (1907–78) studied architecture and industrial design. Ray (née Beatrice Alexandra Kaiser, 1912–88) was an artist, who studied under the Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. They met in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit (the legendary institution where Charles also met his frequent collaborator Eero Saarinen and the artist and designer Harry Bertoia) and married the next year.
His technical skills and her artistic flair were wonderfully complementary. They moved to Los Angeles in 1941, where Charles worked on set design for MGM. In the evenings at their apartment, they experimented with molded plywood using a handmade heat-and-pressurization device they called the “Kazam!” machine. The next year, they won a contract from the U.S. Navy for lightweight plywood leg splints for wounded servicemen — they are coveted collectibles today; more so those that Ray used to make sculptures.
The Navy contract allowed Charles to open a professional studio, and the attention-grabbing plywood furniture the firm produced prompted George Nelson, the director of design of the furniture-maker Herman Miller Inc., to enlist Charles and (by association, if not by contract) Ray in 1946. Some of the first Eames items to emerge from Herman Miller are now classics: the LCW, or Lounge Chair Wood, and the DCM, or Dining Chair Metal, supported by tubular steel.
The Eameses eagerly embraced new technology and materials, and one of their peculiar talents was to imbue their supremely modern design with references to folk traditions. Their Wire chair group of the 1950s, for example, was inspired by basket weaving techniques. The populist notion of “good design for all” drove their molded fiberglass chair series that same decade, and also produced the organic-form, ever-delightful La Chaise. In 1956 the Eames lounge chair and ottoman appeared — the supremely comfortable plywood-base-and-leather-upholstery creation that will likely live in homes as long as there are people with good taste and sense.
Charles Eames once said, “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” For very good collectors and thoughtful interior designers, a piece of design by the Eameses, the closer produced to original conception the better, is almost de rigueur — for its beauty and comfort, and not least as a tribute to the creative legacy and enduring influence of Charles and Ray Eames.
The collection of original Eames furniture on 1stDibs includes chairs, tables, case pieces and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Athens, Greece
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Charles and Ray Eames DAX chair by Herman Miller, 70sBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Athens, AttikiThe fully upholstered DAX chair is part of the Eames plastic armchairs collection, first presented as part of a New York Moma competition. An iconic piece o...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Herman Miller white ETR coffee table designed by Charles and Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in Athens, AttikiHerman Miller white ETR coffee table designed by Charles and Ray Eames,1951. ETR was the abbreviated name of the Elliptical (E) Table (T) on a Rod (R) base. Long really means long in the case of ETR (226cm). But because it’s just under 75cm wide it doesn’t overwhelm the room.It stands very low and has a very distinctive shape which helped coin the alternative name of the Eames ‘Surfboard’ table...Category
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal, Steel
- ‘Willow’ Armchair Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh by CassinaBy Cassina, Charles Rennie MackintoshLocated in Athens, AttikiThe ‘Willow’ armchair designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the ‘Willow Tea Room’, Glasgow 1904. This masterful modern armchair is an expert re-edition by Cassina. In its origi...Category
Antique Early 1900s Italian Art Nouveau Bergere Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Penelope Chair by Charles Pollock for Anonima CastelliBy Charles Pollock, Anonima CastelliLocated in Athens, AttikiPenelope chair designed in 1982 by Charles Pollock for Anonima Castelli. Steel-wire sled base supports a seat permeable to air which consists in a steel...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Le Stelle armchair by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, 1974.By Mario Bellini, B&B ItaliaLocated in Athens, AttikiLe Stelle armchair by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, 1974. Awards:Moma, Design Study Collection,New York. Elastic membranes, polyurethane cartilage, straps. Muscles flexed by a light ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- Le Bambole armchair by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, 2022By B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in Athens, AttikiB&B Italia’s Le Bambola has received a radical redesign for its 50th anniversary by its original designer, Italian architect Mario Bellini. Le bambola was designed in 1972 and awarde...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Charles Eames for Herman Miller Low DAX Shell ArmchairBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in St. Louis, MOCharles and Ray Eames second generation Zenith shell armchair, black enameled metal legs in X-pattern, large shock mounts, pale yellow fibergla...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Armchair by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1970sBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Lasne, BESwivel chair on casters in metal and fiberglass. Wear due to time and age of the chair (see photo) Adjustable seat height.Category
Vintage 1970s Central American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Charles and Ray Eames "DAR" Armchair by Zenith for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Zenith, Herman MillerLocated in Highland, INThe earliest fiberglass Eames chairs were produced by Zenith Plastics and came in a limited palate of five colors including parchment. The Zenith produced shells are distinctive for ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- Herman Miller DAT Executive armchair Designed by Charles & Ray EamesBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Offenburg, Baden WurthembergHerman Miller DAT fibre plastic armchair on office base, Designed by Charles & Ray Eames in 1948. Off-white fibre plastic armshell, DAT shivel base equipped with tilt function, hei...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Green Leather 'Dax' Armchair by Charles & Ray Eames, 1960sBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Hilversum, NLA Dax rope edge fiberglass Zenith shell chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller Co. with aluminum-finished legs retaining the original green leather upholstery over a...Category
Late 20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Red Leather 'Dax' Armchair by Charles & Ray Eames, 1960sBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Hilversum, NLA Dax rope edge fiberglass Zenith shell chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller Co. with aluminum-finished legs retaining the original red leather upholstery over a f...Category
Late 20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
The prolific manufacturer has partnered with many of the world’s top designers since opening its doors in 1923. Here are some of the company’s greatest hits, which helped transform the American home and office.