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84.233.2.jpg
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Charles Eames, designer

Rocking Chair, ca. 1951

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Charles Eames, 1907-1978, American, designer
  • Ray Eames, 1912-1988, American, designer
  • Herman Miller Furniture Co., 1923-present, American, manufacturer

Title

Rocking Chair

Year

ca. 1951

Medium

Wire and maple

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • steel,
  • maple

Dimensions

71.8 x 47 x 68.6 cm (28 3/16 x 18 1/2 x 27 inches)

Place

United States of America

Type

  • Decorative Arts,
  • Furniture

Credit

Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor

Object Number

84.233.2

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Jim Isermann

November 17, 2000 - March 4, 2001

The Moderns

August 6, 1993 - March 13, 1994

Modern and Contemporary Galleries

Prior to working in the Eames office during the 1940s, Harry Bertoia taught jewelry and metalwork at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. The extent of his design contributions to Eames products is not entirely known, but Bertoia’s experience in metalwork is thought to have inspired the concept for the Eameses’ first wire chair. The shape of the seat echoes their wildly successful molded plastic chair, and featured a similarly customizable base design that included rockers, as seen here.

Bertoia’s own wire chair was designed and produced shortly after the Eameses’ version. The child’s chair, a scaled-down version of his adult-sized side chair, offered children the same stylish aesthetic as their parents.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in Copyright. This object is Rocking Chair with the accession number of 84.233.2. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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