Drawing

Charles Eames first came to prominence as a chair designer in 1940 when, with Eero Sarrinin, he won the 1940 'Organic Design in Home Furnishings' competition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1942 Eames and Saarinen worked for the US Navy Developing plywood leg splints. From this work he experimented further with moulded plywood and steel in furniture design and, working with his wife Ray from the late 1940s, developed the pedestal Eames Lounge Chair in 1955. The new point about the Eames plywood technique was that the plywood was moulded into curves of more than one plane. This model proved to be so successful that it is still in production and has achieved 'classic' status around the world.