I stumbled upon Eileen Gray by accident. The Denver Central Library - designed by Michael Graves - recently reopened after four years of major renovations, and I was excited to finally see the inside. In the sunlit main hall, a graphic novel was propped up in the “Recently Returned” section: Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun. I’d heard of her in architecture school, but only ever in connection to Le Corbusier. I brought the book home and became enamored with her story. Through the format of a graphic novel, author Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and illustrator Zosia Dzierżawska have made Gray’s exceptional history more accessible and personal, and honor her as a pioneer of architectural modernism. The graphic novel begins with Le Corbusier’s death, who drowned beneath Eileen Gray’s most famous work: E-1027.¹
Cover for Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun, 2019. Courtesy of Nobrov/Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierżawska
If you asked my favorite architect in school, my answer would have been Richard Neutra, and I took weekend pilgrimages to see his projects throughout Southern California. Neutra and modernism were my entrance into architectural history, but it became clear that women were missing from this canon. The most famous women in modernism seemed to be clients, or wives of clients. I held on to stories of Ray Eames’ work - never devoid of Charles - and Charlotte Perriand, who was (also) most often contextualized in her relation to Le Corbusier. Eileen Gray is no exception, and she was absent in my architectural case study lists and decorative arts classes in college. Through the story of E-1027, it became clear to me that her erasure from the history of architectural modernism was strategic and, at times, deliberate.
An early chapter in the graphic novel called “Little Eileen” emphasizes her somber, but unique upbringing. Gray was the youngest of five children to Irish and Italian parents, and eventually moved to London and later Paris to study art. Eileen Gray studied under artist Seizo Sugawara, and became highly skilled in traditional Japanese lacquer techniques. Her work flourished in Paris, and Gray became renowned in salons and her own showroom that she opened in 1922: Jean Désert. The showroom’s name was a male pseudonym that helped the business (the graphic novel even references “Mister Désert”), and she continued her work in lacquered furniture, rugs, screens, and other decorative arts.¹
In my research of her early work, Caroline Constant’s biography of Eileen Gray curiously opens with a poem from Aleister Crowley. This odd reference led me to his 1905 collection of poems Rosa Mundi: And Other Love Songs, and the thirteenth poem in the collection is titled “Eileen.” Surprisingly, Gray and Crowley - yes, Mr. Crowley - were briefly engaged in 1902 in Paris.² With her endlessly fascinating history, Eileen may have dodged a bullet with Mr. Crowley, but her design work was later influenced by another person she was romantically involved with: Jean Badovici.
While I want to refrain from solely contextualizing Eileen Gray within her romantic relationships, E-1027 was designed for Jean Badovici and named for their partnership - “Eileen Jean Badovici Gray.” The name E-1027 is a riddle: “E” for Eileen, the 10th letter in the alphabet being “J,” the 2nd being “B,” and the 7th being “G.” ² The design of E-1027 was also fundamentally altered by Badovici’s later association with Le Corbusier, making it difficult to discuss her work without including how it was vandalized by more famous men.
E-1027. © Manuel Bougot, Courtesy ArchDaily
Badovici was a Romanian architect and writer, and the land for E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France was purchased in his name. Jean Badovici’s influence in the design of E-1027 is visible in the implementation of Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture throughout the home, with subtle use of pilotis, horizontal strips of glass, access to a rooftop deck, and a free, open-plan in the entertaining spaces.² In contrast, Eileen Gray was vocal in her opposition to Corbusier’s idea that a home was a “machine for living in,” and approached the design of the home with a consideration of bodily awareness and sensuality through material use.¹ Gray meticulously designed the form and furnishings of the home, implementing sensual textures and nautical imagery and schema in E-1027. The silhouette and design of the home resembles a boat in many ways, and Corbusian “horizontal windows” are actually created with the use of canvas that fronts full-height windows. Gray also designed her famous Transat chairs to be used on the outdoor terrace, which were inspired by the deck chairs used on transatlantic steamship travel.³
Interior, E-1027. © Manuel Bougot, Courtesy ArchDaily
Despite the home’s name evoking a catalogue item number, Gray used Corbusier stencils to add phrases throughout the house as an amusing commentary on machine imagery. The phrase “défense de rire” is included in the entry - roughly translating to “no laughing matter.” In addition to being the home’s architect, Gray designed many iconic furniture pieces and interiors for the home, such as the Bibendum chair which was influenced by the Michelin Man.³ Eileen Gray’s wit, character, and sense of Gesamtkunstwerk is clear throughout the design of E-1027, a testament to her skills as an artist and architect. A life preserver hangs from the terrace deck, but too far from the ocean to save anyone.
Interior, E-1027. © Manuel Bougot, Courtesy ArchDaily
E-1027 was completed in 1929, but Eileen moved out of the house shortly after in 1931 when her relationship with Badovici dissolved with his infidelity and alcoholism.³ Gray once stated “memories cling to things, so it’s better to start anew,” and later designed her own retreat: Tempe á Pailla.¹ She continued her prolific architectural work, and her hypothetical design for a Vacation and Leisure Center was displayed in Le Corbusier’s Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux at the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris.² Meanwhile, Jean Badovici remained in the home, and in 1938 he invited Le Corbusier to paint murals on the walls - Gray was not consulted. Corbusier stripped naked and ornamented the home with large-scale murals, some overtly sexual and featuring nude figural forms of Gray without her permission. Corbusier created a total of eight murals, with color schemes and subject matter that misaligned and clashed with E-1027’s original design intent. In Eileen Gray’s own words, the murals in E-1027 were an “act of vandalism.” ¹ ³ ⁴ In Corbusier’s later publications, Eileen Gray’s name and design of the house were omitted entirely and, perhaps in an effort to save his own work, Corbusier had an admirer purchase the home. In the 1950’s, he added the Cabanon de Le Corbusier and five holiday cabins for Etoile de Mer on the site, looking down on E-1027.³ These additions served to contextualize her most famous work within Corbusier’s legacy.
Le Corbusier Mural in E-1027.
© Fondation Le Corbusier / ADAGP / Manuel Bougot
E-1027 is now owned and preserved by non-profit foundation Cap Moderne, which advertises the site as “Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier in Cap Martin.” ⁶ Corbusier’s death in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin further solidified his legacy at this site, overshadowing Gray’s original design for E-1027 on the secluded hillside. His murals remain.
Eileen Gray died on Halloween in 1976, and E-1027 developed a storied history beyond her time in the home. Gray’s narrative is long overdue, but Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierżawska’s graphic novel honors her work and impact on architectural modernism through a truly unique, accessible medium.
Eileen Gray, 1926. Courtesy of Berenice Abbott/Getty Images.
You can learn more about Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierżawskas’ graphic novel Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun here
Aryana Leland is a designer based in Denver, Colorado. She studied Architecture + Art History at Cal Poly Pomona, and her current interests are knitting and creative writing.
¹ Malterre-Barthes, Charlotte, and Zosia Dzierżawska. Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun. London: Nobrow, 2019.
² Constant, Caroline. Eileen Gray. London: Phaidon, 2000.
³ Saunders, Frances Stonor. “The House That Eileen Built.” The Guardian, July 20, 2001. https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2001/jul/21/weekend7.weekend5.
⁴ Courcy, Anne de. “How a Naked Le Corbusier ‘vandalised’ a Modernist Masterpiece.” The Telegraph, June 16, 2019. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/architecture/naked-le-corbusier-vandalised-modernist-masterpiece/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20contented%20always%20have%20little,painted%20them%20in%20the%20nude.
⁵ Stukin, Stacie. “Photos: The Architect of Desire.” W Magazine, June 17, 2015. https://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/eileen-gray.
⁶ “Cap Moderne, Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier at Cap Martin - CMN.” Cap Moderne, Eileen Gray et Le Corbusier au Cap Martin, n.d. https://capmoderne.monuments-nationaux.fr/en.