Eileen Gray, table E-1027

EILEEN GRAY (Enniscorthy, Ireland, 1878-Paris, 1976).
Adjustable side table model E-1027, design 1927.
Steel tube frame, transparent glass top.
Measurements: 97 x 53 cm.

Its distinctive and ingeniously proportioned form has made this height-adjustable table one of the most popular design icons of the 20th century. It is named after the summer house E 1027 "Maison en bord de mer" that Eileen Gray built for herself and her collaborator, Jean Badovici. The secret code name also comes from her: E is for Eileen, 10 for Jean (J is the tenth letter of the alphabet), 2 for B (Badovici) and 7 for G (Bray).

Eileen Gray studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1898 to 1902, while learning the art of lacquering. In 1907 she settled in Paris, where she learned Japanese lacquer techniques from the craftsman Seizo Sougarawa. By 1910 he began designing lacquered screens and panels with figurative motifs and in 1913 he exhibited his work at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, where his designs attracted the attention of the couturier and art collector Jacques Doucet. She became his main client and completed several commissions for him, such as the four-panel screen Le Destin (1914) and the Lotus table (1915), before her work was interrupted by World War I. In 1915 Eileen Gray moved to London with the craftsman Sougarawa. In 1917 she returned to Paris. In 1922, after having carried out several commissions for important clients in Art Deco style, Eileen Gray opened her store, the Galerie Jean Désert. That same year he exhibited his work in Amsterdam with the architect De Stijl Jan Wils. The Dutch avant-garde received with admiration her design for a "bedroom dresser for Monte Carlo" originally exhibited at the 1923 Salon de Artistes Décorateurs. His work from this reflected a clear geometric influence of De Stijl. In 1924 Eileen Gray and architect Jean Badovici took a trip to see modern architecture and he convinced her to take up architecture. This became the Irish designer's most brilliant period. In 1926 Gray designed one of the most important houses of the Modern Movement, the E 1027 for which she created some of her timeless designs such as the Transat Chair (1925) or her famous E 1027 table (1927) of tubular steel and glass. In 1929 he created one of his most recognized designs in the Bibendum armchair, whose silhouette was based on the Michelin doll. The last project was an exhibition held in the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux designed by Le Corbusier in 1937 and the presentation of a project for the Centre de Vacances that was never realized.