Designed by Charles and Ray Eames
Eames Walnut Stools
Design Story
In September 1958, the United States Information Agency appointed George Nelson as chief designer of “The American National Exhibition,” which was set to open in Moscow the following summer. Nelson brought in Charles and Ray Eames in November of that year to help. The Eames Office conceived a multiscreen film called “Glimpses of the U.S.A.” Because of the tight deadline, the film needed to rely heavily on stock footage. Charles asked Henry Luce, chair of Time-Life, for access to the media company’s vast archives. Luce agreed, on condition that Charles and Ray might one day return the favor.
A year later, Luce commissioned the Eames Office to design three lobbies for the newly constructed Time-Life Building at Rockefeller Center: the main reception lobby on the 27th floor, and two smaller lobbies on the 28th and 29th floors. Every element of the floor-to-ceiling designs was produced by Herman Miller. Two of the project’s famous elements—a padded leather swivel chair and a series of small, solid wood stools—went into production as the Eames Executive Chair (aka the Time-Life Chair) and Eames Walnut Stools.
