Charles & ray eames

As a major retrospective of the lauded designers' work opens at the Barbican, we reveal ten little-known facts about their life and creative practice

Sold: Early LCW chair in Walnut by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1954 | #117438

Charles & Ray Eames | 'Why don't we make an updated version of the old English club chair?' With this comment, Charles Eames initiated...

Charles Eames, Ray Eames. Lounge Chair and Ottoman. 1956. Herman Miller Furniture Co., Zeeland, MI. Molded rosewood, plywood, leather, cast aluminum, rubber shock mounts, and stainless steel glides. .a (chair): 33 x 33 3/4 x 33" (83.8 x 85.7 x 83.8 cm) .b (ottoman): 16 x 26 x 21" (40.6 x 66 x 53.3 cm). Gift of the manufacturer. 336.1960.a-b. Architecture and Design

The World of Charles and Ray Eames is a wide-ranging, all-inclusive must-see exhibit highlighting the talent of two California artists of incredible depth and variety.

The guidelines are simple: photography is permitted for souvenir purposes only, and reservations must be made in advance. A rite of passage for any design-minded local or visiting practitioner, a trip to the Eames House, nestled on a winding hillside just above the Santa Monica Bay, will cost you $1

For sale: RAR rocking chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Vitra, 1970s

ESU (Eames Storage Unit) No. 421-C, 1950/1952 © Vitra Design Museum, Photo: Jürgen Hans

Taking inspiration from the humble cardboard box, Ray and Charles Eames created toys and furniture to spark the imaginations of kids and grown-ups alike.

Time magazine called the LCW “the chair of the century". It was first made available to the public in 1946, and we still make it in the same configuration today. In 1945, as the sense grew that the war was coming to a close, the Eames Office, now two years old and some 15 people strong, turned its attention away from wartime work and back to furniture.