Rating and value of furniture, armchairs, tables by Eileen Gray

If you own a piece created by designer Eileen Gray or based on her work and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will guide you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market. Thereafter, if you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Artist's rating and value

Thanks to her bold, modern creations, Eileen Gray is today one of the most sought-after designers on the international market. Over the past ten years, her market value has exploded and continued to rise, with some of her works even reaching auction records, as evidenced by her dragon armchair, dating from 1917, fetched €19,500,000 in 2009 while it was estimated at between €2,000,000 and €3,000,000.

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Details and specifics on Eileen Gray's most iconic furniture  

Eileen Gray created mostly design furniture, part of the purist current of architecture during the 20th century. She is a member of the Union des artistes modernes, and although originally famous for inlaying lacquered decorations into Art Deco furniture, these are not her most highly-rated pieces. The armchair Bibendum, the tubular steel side table and her bookshelves with their sleek design are the works most frequently found on the auction market.

The life of Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray, born Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith (she took the name Gray after a title of nobility received by her mother) was originally from south-east Ireland, a territory that was then part of the United Kingdom.

She trained as a painter at University College, London, and then took classes with friends at the Académie Julian and the Académie Colarossi.

In 1907, she settled permanently on rue Bonaparte, then learned lacquer techniques, before learning those of weaving. She exhibited for the first time in 1913, and appealed to couturier Jacques Doucet, who placed several commissions with her.

She obtained commissions to decorate apartments, and designed new furniture for this purpose, such as the Dragon armchair and certain screens.

In 1920, she opened the Jean Désert gallery in the 1st arrondissement, in collaboration with the architect Jean Badovici, which attracted quite influential customers including Elsa Schiaparelli ; without, however, bringing in much money. Sybold van Reveteyn, an artist who was part of the De Stijl movement, noticed her.

He exerted an important influence on her as she abandoned the Art Deco movement to concentrate on simpler, sleeker designs, then on architectural projects, a craft she learned on the job with Badovici's help. The two architects built Villa E. 1027 on the Côte d'Azur, which would become their home. While there, they met Le Corbusier, who painted murals in their villa.

In the 1930s, she became interested in the issue of social housing, just as artists like Jean Prouvé or Charlotte Perriand, taking into account and reinterpreting the five points of modern architecture enunciated by le Corbusier.

During and after the Second World War, she was forgotten by critics and the public but continued to work on architectural projects. Joseph Rykwert, however, wrote an article about her in Domus magazine in 1968, and critics rediscovered her.

She died in Paris in 1976, aged 98.

Eileen Gray's imprint on her period

Eileen Gray left her mark on twentieth-century design architecture and furniture, even if she was forgotten for a time. She created timeless, simple-to-use pieces aimed at simplifying the design of housing before and after the Second World War. The majority of her works are now in private collections.  

Why is she so highly rated at auction today?

Eileen Gray is an artist little known to the general public. Yet collectors of designer furniture are willing to pay a lot of money for her works. Highly qualitative, like the furniture of Verner Panton, whose style is otherwise close, her furniture pieces are all the rage on the art market.

There are several factors behind this craze. Gray's furniture is rare: production is not very large. Unlike artists known for their theories and work, Gray's work is prized for the discretion of its renown.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Eileen Gray's furniture is unsigned. Only an appraisal can authenticate a piece of furniture by the artist.

Expertise your property

If you own a work by Eileen Gray, please feel free to request a free appraisal by filling out our online form. A member of our team of experts and licensed auctioneers will contact you to provide an estimate of the market value of your work.

If you are considering selling your work, our specialists will also guide you through the various alternatives available to obtain the best possible price, taking into account market trends and the specific features of each object.