Charles Eames and Ray Eames for Vitra

CHARLES EAMES (U.S.A., 1907 - 1978) & RAY EAMES (U.S.A., 1912 - 1988) for VITRA
"Folding screen" .
Laminated ash wood and braided fabric.
Measurements: 172,5 x 200 x 7 cm.
Designed and launched in 1946, the abbreviation Folding (F) Screen (S) in Wood (W) represented a range of folding screens that were part of the plywood home furnishing products launched after the war. The Eames FSW range basically consisted of a set of six "catalog" folding screen models available in three overall lengths, two heights and different finishes. The screens could also be ordered in custom lengths by simply adding plywood sections to their overall length. The screen design was a clever combination of molded plywood panels and a band of flexible cotton canvas between each panel. The panels were the exact same shape, allowing the screen to "collapse" or extend and stand freely. Although the overall demand for screens and dividers may have declined in more recent times, there is no doubt that they were in great demand during the postwar period. Buildings, both domestic and commercial, were often compact with areas of shared space. FSW screen separators were an attractive way to provide separation for a wide variety of scenarios.
The FSW, as part of the plywood furniture group, came to market along with the famous Eames chairs, such as the DCM and LCW, and tables such as the DTM and DTW. By the mid-1950s, the popularity of plywood pieces was waning, largely due to the advent of different fashions and new materials. The screen was discontinued in 1955, but would reappear as part of Herman Miller's "home classics," which began production again in 1955.

Charles and Ray Eames, husband and wife and artistic couple, worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film, and are responsible for numerous designs that have become classics of the 20th century. Charles Eames studied architecture for two years at the University of Washington, and then 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. There he would end up teaching, heading the industrial design department. Together with Eero Saarinen, son of his teacher Eliel Saarinen, he designed the trophy for the Organic Design Award, given by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1941, after divorcing his first wife, he married fellow Cranbrook artist 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," 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. They are currently represented in the Design Museum in London and the MoMA in New York, among many others.