Charles & Ray Eames show their then-new masterpiece on the Arlene Francis Home show broadcast on the NBC television network in 1956.
(Google video 11:21 downloadable; also on YouTube [1/2] [2/2])
Arlene Francis was a pioneer for women on television, one of the first to host a program that was not musical or dramatic in nature. From 1954-57, she was host and editor-in-chief of Home, NBC’s hour-long daytime magazine program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network president Pat Weaver to complement the network’s Today and Tonight programs. «Newsweek» magazine put her on its cover as the “first lady of television”.
The Eames Lounge Chair and ottoman, correctly titled Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671), were released in 1956 after years of development by designers Charles and Ray Eames for the Herman Miller furniture company. It was the first chair the Eames designed for a high-end market. These furnishings are made of molded plywood and leather. Examples of these furnishings are part of the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.