ESU (Eames storage unit), 400 series

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ESU (Eames storage unit), 400 series

United States, circa 1949; manufactured 1950-1955
Furnishings; Furniture
Zinc-plated steel, birch-faced and plastic-coated plywood, lacquered particle board, rubber
69 x 47 x 16 in. (175.26 x 119.38 x 40.64 cm)
Gift of Mr. Sid Avery and Mr. James Corcoran (M.86.105)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

This storage unit was designed shortly after Charles and Ray Eames completed their renowned home in Pacific Palisades....
This storage unit was designed shortly after Charles and Ray Eames completed their renowned home in Pacific Palisades. The Eameses built their house entirely of standardized steel columns and joists, significantly reducing construction costs. Like the house, the Eames Storage Units were modular and expandable, and were made of off-the-shelf parts.

(California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)
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Bibliography

  • Barron, Stephanie, S. Bernstein and I. S. Fort, with essays by Stephanie Barron, Sherri Bernstein, M. Dear, Howard N. Fox and Richard Rodriguez.  Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000.  Los Angeles:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Berkeley:  University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000.

    View this publication in LACMA's Reading Room

  • Barron, Stephanie, S. Bernstein and I. S. Fort, with essays by Stephanie Barron, Sherri Bernstein, M. Dear, Howard N. Fox and Richard Rodriguez.  Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000.  Los Angeles:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Berkeley:  University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000.

    View this publication in LACMA's Reading Room

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. Los Angeles: Los  Angeles County Museum of Art; Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Living in a Modern Way: California Design, 1930-1965.  Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013. 
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Exhibition history

  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Tokyo, Japan, The National Art Center, Tokyo, March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Tokyo, Japan, The National Art Center, Tokyo, March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery, July 6, 2013 - September 29, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" South Brisbane, Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, November 2, 2013 - February 9, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Salem, MA, Peabody Essex Museum, March 29, 2014 - July 6, 2014
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