Charles & Ray Eames, RAR Eames Rocking Chair

CHARLES EAMES (U.S., 1907–1978) and RAY EAMES (U.S., 1912–1988).
Eames RAR Rocking Chair. Designed in 1950.
Original Eames fiberglass, designed in 1950
1970s edition in very good condition, entirely original.
Measurements: 76 x 62 x 70 cm.

The RAR rocking chair represents an evolution of the iconic Fiberglass Chair, but with integrated armrests and curved wooden glides. The original Fiberglass Chair was conceived by Charles and Ray Eames in collaboration with Zenith Plastics as part of the “Economic Furniture Design” competition organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This pioneering creation marked the beginning of the industrial production of plastic chairs. It is a range of chairs with a one-piece shell molded to conform to the contours of the human body, uniquely combining three basic concepts of interior design: lightness, elegance, and structural strength.

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, and then began his career working at a firm on residential housing projects. In 1938, he moved to Cranbrook, Michigan, to continue studying architecture and design at the city’s Academy of Art. There he became a professor and headed the industrial design department. Together with Eero Saarinen—the son of his professor, 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 Cranbrook colleague, Ray Kaiser. Together they settled in Los Angeles, where they remained for the rest of their lives. In the late 1940s, Ray and Charles designed their home together, known as the “Eames House,” which is now 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.