Out of the shadows

She was acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest designers, so why was Eileen Gray ignored by Ireland for so long, asks Manchán Magan

IS it unfair to claim that Ireland only began showing any interest in our greatest designer, Eileen Gray, after her Dragon’s Chair sold for €21.9m in 2009? Before that she was the preserve of a few eccentric aesthetes and design fanatics. The only public figure to have acclaimed her in Ireland was not an architect, nor an art-historian, nor even a designer, but an archaeologist, Dr Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum, who regards her as one of the three greatest minds of 20th century Ireland, alongside William Butler Yeats and James Joyce. Her importance and influence on the world stage was no less than theirs, so why then have we ignored her here at home?

Gray was born and raised on the outskirts of Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, but left the country as soon as she came of age, immersing herself in the avant-garde society of Paris and London, becoming one of the pioneering giants of modernism whose work, 30 years after her death, is still considered to be the very essence of the Modern. She is one of the most influential furniture designers and architects of the early 20th century — definitely the most important of her gender. However, while most people are familiar with her Adjustable Table and the Bibendum Chair (one of the most recognisable items of contemporary furniture), she is still neglected in her home country.