Sofa Monte Carlo by Eileen Gray, 1929

Eileen Gray 1879 – 1976

Born in Ireland and from an affluent and artistic family background, Eileen Gray
studied at the Slade School of Fine Arts (1898). In 1902, she moved to France
and studied drawing at the Académies Colarossi and Julian, Paris. Later, she
trained in the art of lacquer with the Japanese craftsman, Sougawara. She spent
much of World War I in London and only returned to Paris in 1918. Prior to, she
had worked solely as a furniture designer; however, in that year she began to work
on interior design. In 1922, she opened the Galerie Jean Désert as a showcase
for her own work. The same year she also came into contact with the De Stijl
movement. From 1926 onwards, she worked as an architect and exhibited several
architectural projects in Le Corbusier's Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux at the 1937
Paris Exhibition.