1907, June 17Born,
St. Louis, Mo.19251928Attended
Washington University,St. Louis, Mo.1929Married
Catherine Dewey Woermann (divorced
1941)1930Opened architectural office with
Charles M. Gray,St. Louis, Mo.1934Spent eight months traveling, working, and painting in
Mexico1935Established architectural firm with
Robert T. Walsh,St. Louis, Mo.19381940Received fellowship and later head of the
Department of Industrial Design, Cranbrook Academy of
Art,
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.1940Won two first-prizes with
Eero Saarinen in the
Organic Design in Home Furnishings
competition,
Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y. 1941Los Angeles, Calif.Los AngelesMarried
Ray Kaiser; moved to
Los Angeles, Calif.Designed sets as member of
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Art Department1951Received
Industrial Designers Institute's first
national award1953Created basic design course for beginning architecture,
University of California, Berkeley, Calif.19561978Design consultant,
International Business Machines Corp.1957Milan, ItalyMilanoProvincia di MilanoAwarded Diploma di Gran Premio,
Triennale di Milano,Milan, ItalyAwarded
American Institute of Architects' 100th
Anniversary Gold Medal for Craftsmanship1967Architectural consultant,
Immaculate Heart College,Los Angeles, Calif.1969Appointed to the
Puerto Rico Advisory Council on Natural
Resources19691970Consultant,
United Nations Visitor Center
projectMember,
Commission to Survey the Several Arts,Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Mass.1970Ahmedabad, IndiaAhmadābādAhmadābādServed with Ray Eames as
Ford Foundation consultant reporting on
the progress of the
National Design Institute,Ahmedabad, IndiaAppointed to six-year term on the
National Council on the ArtsElected fellow,
American Academy of Arts and Sciences19701971Delivered
Charles Eliot Norton lectures,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.1971Member,
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Steering Committee on
Technology and Education1972Appointed to Board of Visitors,
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University
of California, Los Angeles, Calif.1973Appointed Special Advisor,
Federal Design Improvement Program1976Appointed to the
Library of Congress Advisory Committee on Science and
Technology1977Washington, D.C.Washington, D. C.District of ColumbiaDelivered
Frank Nelson Doubleday lectures,
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.Regents' Professor,
University of California, Los Angeles,
Calif.1978Delivered lecture,
International Design Conference,Aspen, Colo.1978, Aug. 21Died,
St. Louis, Mo.
Ray Eames
1912, Dec. 15Born
Bernice Alexandra Kaiser,Sacramento, Calif.1933Graduated,
Bennett School,
Millbrook, N.Y.19331939Provincetown, Mass.ProvincetownNew York, N.Y.New York CityChelseaNew YorkStudied with
Hans Hofmann in
Provincetown, Mass., and
New York, N.Y.1936Founding member,
American Abstract Artists1937Showed paintings in first
American Abstract Artist show,
Riverside Museum, New York, N.Y.1940Audited classes at the
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.Assisted in preparation of drawings and models for Charles
Eames and
Eero Saarinen's entries in the Organic
Design in Home Furnishings competition,
Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.1941Married Charles Eames; moved to
Los Angeles, Calif. 1942Began designing covers for
Arts and Architecture magazineWorked on first molded plywood sculpture1947Entered two textile designs in printed fabrics competition,
Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.1948Began designing graphics and advertisements for the
Herman Miller [company] 1970Served with Charles Eames as
Ford Foundation consultant reporting on the
progress of the
National Design Institute,
Ahmedabad, India19741976Panelist,
American Council for the Arts in Education 1977Named "Woman of the Year,"
California Museum of Science and Industry Muses, Los
Angeles, Calif.1978Delivered lecture,
United States-Japan Conference on Cultural-Educational
Exchange,
Tokyo, Japan1979Awarded with Charles Eames Royal Gold Medal,
Royal Institute of British ArchitectsExhibit consultant,
Federal Reserve Bank, San Francisco,
Calif.1982Began work on
Eames Design: The Work of Charles and Ray Eames
(New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989. 456 pp.) with
John Neuhart and
Marilyn Neuhart1984Delivered lecture,
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco,
Calif.1986Received Vesta Award,
Board of Directors of the Woman's Building, Los
Angeles, Calif.1988, Aug. 21Died,
Los Angeles, Calif.
Chronology of the Work of Charles and Ray Eames
19411943Experimented with molded plywood technology and furniture
designsDesigned and produced molded plywood splints and litters
for
United States Navy1943Formed
Molded Plywood Division, Evans Products Co.19451946Selected plywood chair and table designs for mass
production1946Exhibited plywood furniture designs at the
Barclay Hotel and
Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.Granted the
Herman Miller [company] the right to
market and distribute Eames plywood furniture designsDesigned plywood folding screen1948Los Angeles, Calif.Los AngelesDesigned first
Herman Miller [company] showroom in
Los Angeles, Calif.Entered aluminum and steel furniture designs in the
International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture
Design, Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.1949Designed and built with
Eero Saarinen two houses in
Pacific Palisades, Calif., for
Arts and Architecture Case Study House
program1950Produced first film,
Traveling BoyDesigned Eames Storage UnitsDesigned the first of five Good
Design exhibits shown at the
Merchandise Mart, Chicago, Ill., and
Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.19501953Designed fiberglass chairs produced by
Zenith Plastics and marketed by the
Herman Miller [company]1951Designed game, "The Toy"1952Produced film,
BlacktopDesigned "House of Cards" card game1953Produced film,
A Communications Primer1954Designed "sofa compact" and stadium seating1955Produced films,
House: After Five Years of Living and
Textiles and Ornamental Arts of India1956Designed lounge chair and ottoman1957Produced films,
Day of the Dead and
Tocata for Toy TrainsDesigned the Solar Do-Nothing Machine for
Aluminum Co. of America1958Washington, D.C.Washington, D. C.District of ColumbiaProduced film,
The Expanding Airport, depicting the proposed
use of "mobile lounges" at
Dulles Airport outside
Washington, D.C.Wrote
India Report, a study commissioned by the Indian
government on preserving and promoting indigenous Indian designDesigned
Aluminum Group furniture
collection1959Produced seven-screen film,
Glimpses of the U.S.A., shown at the
American National Exhibition,Moscow, USSR1960New York, NYNew York CityChelseaNew YorkDesigned three lobbies for the
Time-Life Building,New York, NY, 1944-1985 (Containers
227-238)Produced segments for the
Columbia Broadcasting System's "Fabulous
Fifties" television program; the Eames Office won an Emmy Award for graphics in
this program1961Designed and mounted exhibit, Mathematica, for the
International Business Machines Corp. at
the
California Museum of Science and Industry, Los
Angeles, Calif., and
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago,
Ill.Designed Eames Contract Storage units19621964Designed exhibits, film presentations, and graphics for the
International Business Machines Corp.
pavilion at the
New York World's Fair1965Ahmedabad, IndiaAhmadābādAhmadābādDesigned and mounted the exhibit, Nehru: His Life and His India,National Design Institute,
Ahmedabad, IndiaProduced films,
Westinghouse in Alphabetical Order and
The Smithsonian Institution1966Armonk, N.Y.ArmonkBegan design work on a museum and exhibition center at
International Business Machines Corp.
headquarters in
Armonk, N.Y.Washington, D.C.Washington, D. C.District of ColumbiaBegan design work on proposed exhibits for the
National Fisheries Center and Aquarium to
be built in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D. C.District of ColumbiaDesigned glass pavilion for the
Smithsonian Institution's carousel,
Washington, D.C.1968Designed and mounted exhibit, Photography and the City: The Evolution of an Art and a
Science,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.1968Washington, D.C.Washington, D. C.District of ColumbiaDesigned and mounted a permanent exhibit in the
International Business Machines Corp.'s Presentation
Center, Washington, D.C. Designed chaise for
Billy WilderProduced film,
Powers of Ten (revised and updated in
1977)1969Participated in What Is
Design? exhibit,
Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Palais de
Louvre, Paris, FranceDesigned Soft-Pad Aluminum Group furniture collection for
the
Herman Miller [company]1971Designed and mounted the exhibit, A
Computer Perspective,IBM Exhibit Center, New York, N.Y.1972Produced,
SX-70, the first Eames film for
Polaroid Corp.;
Something About Photography followed in 1976 and
Polavision in 197719721974Designed and mounted a series of traveling astronomy and
science exhibits, first shown at the
IBM Exhibit Center, New York, N.Y.1975Mexico City, MexicoMexico CityEstado de MéxicoColonia MéxicoDesigned the exhibit, World of
Franklin and Jefferson, for the
American Revolution Bicentennial
Commission; shown in three European and three American venues and in
Mexico City, MexicoProduced film,
Metropolitan Overview, depicting Eames Office
plans for an information center at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y.1977Submitted proposal for an exhibition center to be located in
the
International Business Machines Corp.'s new
building at
590 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y.1978Designed "Art Game," an interactive videodisc
programProduced films,
Cézanne: The Late Work, with Quotations from His
Letters and Reminiscences and
Degas in the MetropolitanFrom the guide to the Charles Eames and Ray Eames Papers, 1885-1988, (bulk 1965-1988), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)