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Form Follows Formulation

Handmade Fiberglass Study for Side Shell

Charles Eames, Ray Eames

1951

There are very few sketches of chairs in the collection. Rather than draw sketches of ideas for a chair, Ray and Charles liked to be very hands-on when iterating an idea. Even if they decided to go with the first prototype, Charles said they needed to make the other seven or else they would not know that the first one was the best. The characteristics of this shell, smooth on one side, rough on the other, are a result of the handmade process that produced it.

  • Medium:Fiberglass
  • Dimensions:18 x 19 x 18 in. (45.7 x 48.3 x 45.7 cm)
  • Design Date:1952
  • Credit Line:All images courtesy of Eames Office
  • Item:2019.2.270