b. 1907 d. 1978
Site Affiliation: Eames House
Charles Eames trained briefly as an architect at Washington University in St. Louis before being dismissed for his sympathies with the modernist movement — an irony that would come to define his career. After establishing an independent practice in Missouri, he was invited by Eliel Saarinen to join the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he became the school’s first director of industrial design, collaborated with Eero Saarinen on a prize-winning chair design entry to MoMA’s 1940 Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition, and met Ray Kaiser, his future wife and design partner. Following their marriage in 1941 and relocation to Los Angeles, the couple founded what became one of the most productive design offices of the twentieth century — producing work in furniture, architecture, film, and exhibition design distinguished by material ingenuity and philosophical consistency.
Primary Medium: Design
Primary Stylistic Term: Mid-Century Modern
HAHS Affiliations: Ray and Charles Eames were also associated with Saarinen House.
Fun Fact: The steel frame of the Eames House was erected in just one and a half days.
Recommended Publications: An Eames Primer by Eames Demetrios (2001); An Eames Anthology by Charles and Ray Eames, edited by Daniel Ostroff (2015); The Eames Houses: Charles and Ray Eames Residential Architecture by Eckart Maise (2026)