Charles and Ray Eames

Private Collection of Mark McDonald, acquired circa 1995

John Neuhart, Marilyn Neuhart and Ray Eames, Eames Design:  The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, New York, 1989, pp. 66-67

Overall excellent original condition. With some cracks to the veneered surfaces of the front face of the drawers, some which appear to have been professionally stabilized. With a minor chip to the black painted edge to the top edge of the proper left side of the front edge. This is minor and could easily be minimized by a professional restorer. The drawers each move with ease. The other sides of the case with some shallow surface scratches and a few very light discolorations. With a ¼ inch professionally filled edge chip to the proper left back edge. A superb object that is the first example from the Case Goods System series we have seen on the auction market.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

When we moved Fifty/50 in 1983 to a larger space on 793 Broadway, our debut exhibition was "Charles and Ray Eames: The Sum of the Parts" which I believe was the first exhibition to give Ray equal billing with Charles. After a bumpy start, triggered by her concern over the escalating prices for Eames furniture at galleries like ours, Ray gradually warmed to me over the next few years, and towards the end of her life we had become good friends. She graced my booth at the Los Angeles Modernism show in 1987 and posed for this photo with me, and I often visited the Venice office.

One day she invited me to the house. I knew it well from all the iconic images published over the years. During lunch in the courtyard between the house and studio overlooking Santa Monica Bay, she was telling me about the early years in Cranbrook. She remembered a silver brooch she had gotten from their friend Harry Bertoia. After lunch we went upstairs to search through some cabinets where she thought the pin should be. Sadly we couldn't find the brooch, but I fell in love with a series of chests with extraordinary detailing that I assumed were unique works made specifically for her dressing room.  In fact they were rare examples from the "Cased Goods" system of 1945-46. It was a transition design, the missing link between the Eames/Saarinen modular pieces produced by Red Lion for the "Organic Design in Home Furnishings Competition" in 1941 at the Museum of Modern Art, and the highly successful Eames Storage Unit series manufactured by Herman Miller in the 1950s.

Several years later, maybe 1995, an example of the chest of drawers miraculously turned up at a Miami Modernism show in the ballroom of the Deauville hotel during set-up, offered by Bill Triola for the staggering price of $10,000. At that price, all of us dealers had to give it some serious thought, but luckily I stepped up to the plate and squirreled it away before the show opened to the public. It went straight home when I got back from Florida and has never been offered for sale. This is the most difficult treasure for me to sell in this entire auction.  -MM