Special-Edition Eames Armchair Comes Occupied By A Saul Steinberg Cat
In 1950, Ray and Charles Eames introduced the world to the groundbreaking Eames armchair. Combining a plastic shell seat with a four-legged base, they revolutionized mass-produced seating and left an enduring legacy in the realm of design.
Sometime after its inception, artist, architect, and friend of the couple Saul Steinberg paid the Eames’ a visit to their studio in Venice, California. While there, Steinberg dotted their studio walls and floors with some of his paintings. That included taking his brush to one of the armchairs and drawing a woman on one and a cat on the other. Cats were a big part of Steinberg’s portfolio, and most contained felines out of the 800 pieces of work he had done. Some were modeled after his pet, Papoose, and others even depicted himself.
Thanks to the Eames’ fun-loving nature, they did not get angry at him for defacing their work but instead documented his time in the studio.
While this happened almost 75 years ago, Eames Office, the Saul Steinberg estate, Herman Miller, and Vitra are coming together to honor that moment by reproducing the famous chair with his cat resting snuggly.
The chair itself had been kept in the archives of the Eames Institute and has now been taken out and digitally scanned to produce a template of the drawing so it can be painted onto the new collection. The historic piece will also come in the same off-white, beige color, and are sealed in a lacquer to protect the painting. Its underside carries the Herman Miller and Vitra logos.
The chair will be available on the Vitra and Herman Miller sites on June 14. The 500 pieces will be split across different countries, with 180 going to the US and North America for US$2,500. Japan will receive 20 units for ¥328,000, and the remaining 300 are to be split across Europe and the Middle East; pricing will be on request for these countries.
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