Eames, << eemz >>, Charles (1907-1978), was an American designer who became internationally famous for creating some of the most imaginative furniture of the 1900’s. Eames was especially noted for his skillful use of plywood and plastic to create comfortable, practical, and inexpensive chairs of high quality. Some of his most influential designs are still used in homes and offices worldwide.
In 1946, Eames introduced the most famous of his Eames chair designs. It consisted of a molded plywood seat and back that seemed to float on a thin metal frame (see Furniture ( The 1900’s and 2000’s.)) Eames’s stacking chairs have molded fiberglass bodies and aluminum legs. They can be stacked one on top of another for storage. His other designs include a lounge chair made of molded plywood on a metal pivot base and a chair with four wire legs supporting a molded plastic shell.
Eames was also an architect noted for his house designs, such as the steel-frame Eames House (1949) in Pacific Palisades, California. He also designed toys and museum exhibitions as well as writing and directing motion pictures for corporations, schools, and the United States government.
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr., was born on June 17, 1907, in St. Louis, Missouri. He married Ray Kaiser, an American architect and designer, in 1941. They worked as partners until his death on Aug. 21, 1978.
