100 Objects from Century of the Child

Ray Eames and Charles Eames. Child’s chair. 1944

Among the Eameses’ earliest designs was a 1945 series of children’s furniture molded from a single piece of plywood; the chair, stool, and table were diminutive in scale and dyed in saturated hues of red, blue, yellow, black, and magenta. Like other modernist bentwood designs, the pair’s children’s furniture exemplified efficient modern technology and rational production, while the heart-shape motif on the chair back also signified innocence and sweetness. The pair’s playful partnership and interest in children’s goods extended to many different kinds of objects for the modern playroom, including the House of Cards, Hang-It-All clothing rack, abstract Walking Horse, and Drawing Toy.

Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild