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Ray’s Hand

Walnut Stool, 413

1977

In 1960, the Eameses designed this and several similar stools for the new Time & Life Building in New York. Notably, the pieces have long been attributed primarily to Ray. This distinguishes them from other Eames furniture designs, which for many years were attributed either exclusively to Charles or to the Eames Office as a whole. The attribution of these stools to Ray was in some ways a welcome exception, but, as Pat Kirkham has argued, their connection to the craft of woodworking means that crediting Ray with their design can also result in reinforcing gender stereotypes linking women to craft. Thus, it is important to pair this particular attribution with an insistence on acknowledging Ray’s vital and consistent contributions to Eames furniture more broadly. Ray herself resisted efforts to ascribe the design of these stools to her alone, understanding that doing so implied she was uninvolved with the rest of the Eames furniture designs.

  • Manufacturer: Herman Miller, Inc.
  • Medium:Walnut
  • Dimensions:15 x 13 x 13 in. (38.1 x 33 x 33 cm)
  • Design Date:1960
  • Item:2019.1.15