Born: 15 December 1912, United States
Died: 21 August 1988
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
While Charles Eames was the public face of their architecture and furniture design partnership, he was always quick to acknowledge his wife, Ray, as an equal, or even superior, saying “Anything I can do, Ray can do better.” Yet in the 1940s-’70s United States, Ray was often dismissed and overlooked by others, partially because much of her contributions came in the subtle details. As the BBC put it, “She sprinkled stardust on his designs, and gave his grand projects the human touch. She had a feel for colour, and a sense of fun. Without her playful input, his creations would have seemed austere.”