Description
Sixteen architectural drawings once owned by architect and designer Eileen Gray
comprise the archive. Original drawings and reprographic prints for three of Gray's own architectural projects form the bulk
of the archive, with the
rest being prints of drawings for two projects by Gray's colleagues, Le Corbusier and Jean Badovici. Although few in number,
the drawings in this
collection document key aspects of Gray's architectural work, including her interest in minimal housing and in the role of
architecture in public
welfare, as well as her interactions with colleagues.
Background
Eileen Gray came to architecture late. She designed her first structures in her mid-forties, after achieving significant success
as a furniture and
interior designer in Paris. With only nine realized projects, most of them renovations, Gray's small architectural output
belies her importance in the
development of modernist architecture in France. Perhaps architectural historian and critic Joseph Rykwert put it best when
he described Eileen Gray's
contribution as "condensed."
Restrictions
Contact Library Reproductions and
Permissions.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers.