Charles & Ray Eames, EA-219 Soft Pad Chair for Vitra

CHARLES EAMES (U.S., 1907–1978) and RAY EAMES (U.S., 1912–1988) for Vitra.
Vitra Soft-Pad Office Chair, Model EA-219.
High backrest and casters. Height-adjustable with tilt function.
Chrome-plated aluminum base and armrests, new cognac-colored aniline leather upholstery (including the backrest), five-legged base with casters.
The chair has been recently reupholstered, and the base shows slight signs of wear.
Manufactured by Vitra.
Measurements: height 116/103 x 59 x 60 cm, seat height 61/48 cm.

The Soft Pad office chair by Charles and Ray Eames was created in 1958 for Vitra. It has an ergonomic shape that easily adapts to the contours of the body and is in keeping with the elegant design language developed by the Eameses in the 1950s and 1960s. This innovative design was warmly received by both critics and the public, leading to a complete range of models for the Eames Aluminum Group: the EA 101, 103, and 104 Aluminum Chairs (particularly well-suited as dining chairs), the EA 105, 107, and 108 models (most commonly used in conference rooms), the EA 115, 116, EA 124, and 125 Aluminum Chairs form two groups of armchairs, and the EA 117, 118, and 119 versions are the task chairs in this product family. The seat tilt mechanism can be adjusted to the user’s weight, providing optimal comfort.

Charles and Ray Eames, a married couple and artistic partners, worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine arts, and film, and are responsible for numerous designs that have become 20th-century classics. Charles Eames studied architecture for two years at the University of Washington, after which he began his career working in a studio on residential housing projects. In 1938, he moved to Cranbrook, Michigan, to continue studying architecture and design at the city’s Academy of Art. He would eventually teach there, heading the industrial design department. Together with Eero Saarinen—the son of his mentor Eliel Saarinen—he designed the trophy for the Organic Design Award, presented by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1941, after divorcing his first wife, he married his colleague at Cranbrook, Ray Kaiser. Together they settled in Los Angeles, where they would remain for the rest of their lives. In the late 1940s, Ray and Charles designed their home together, known as the “Eames House,” which is today considered a masterpiece of modern architecture. In the 1950s, the couple continued to work in architecture and furniture design, pioneering the use of new techniques and materials such as fiberglass and plastic resin in the manufacture of chairs. Their work is currently represented at the Design Museum in London and the MoMA in New York, among many other institutions.