Nonconformist & Bonaparte Chairs by Eileen Gray
Unconventional Chairs from a Woman Who Led a Life Less Ordinary
Mar 15, 2009
It’s fitting that a woman who lived her life out of the common track has a chair known as the Nonconformist to her name. Its nonconformity deriving from its lack of a full complement of armrests, this piece in particular best exemplifies Gray’s belief that "to create one must first question everything."
Gray was just the woman to question the received wisdom that chairs should always bear two arms. A seat would accommodate a sloppier sitter – she discovered – if it allowed them to slouch and turn; the ommision of one chair arm was the order of the day. She later reflected on the design brief for the piece: "We deliberately left out one armrest to give more ease to the body. You can comfortably lean over to one side or turn around when sitting on this chair". The Nonconformist chair was born.
The Bonaparte Chair
The tubular steel work which Gray became an exponent of is evident both in Nonconformist and a later chair, the Bonaparte. The fundamentals of both pieces are essentially the same. They are both supported by a frame of chromium-steel plated tubing, each uses beech wood for its seat, and both are upholstered in rubber webbing, polyurethane and leather. Even a cursory glance at the two pieces reveals that they spring from the same creative impulse. However, there is one conspicuous difference between the pair - the later chair sports two arms of svelte chrome tubing that afford it a sense of symettrey. The Nonconformist chair, on the other hand, is brazenly assymetrical, with the one arm a fat piece of upholstered leather while on the other flank the omitted arm has been replaced a diagonal piece of chrome.
Gray was apparently so taken with the more convential of the two pieces that she is believed to have used it throughout her life as the desk chair in her appartment at rue de Bonaparte, from which the chair takes its name.
Nonconformist & Bonaparte Chair Sizes
The London-based company Aram holds the worldwide license for boith the Nonconformist and Bonaparte chairs.
A licensed Aram Nonconformist chair measures: 63 x 57 x 77 ( W x D x H ).
A licensed Aram Bonaparte chair measures: W 63 x D 67 x H 74 cm (seat height 45 cm).
Nonconformist & Bonaparte Chair Prices
Price is given on request to Aram.
As with other Modernist designs, there are a number of faux or "inspired-by" Eileen Grays on the market. Prices for a faux Nonconformist chair start at around £360. Faux Bonaparte chairs at £300.
