Brick Screen by Eileen Gray

On the 30^th March 2011 at Christie’s in Paris, a Brick Screen made by Eileen Gray sold for over 1.3 million Euros. Originally owned by Gray herself, the screen had become part of the Château de Gourdon Collection, one of the finest private collections of early 20th century decorative art and design ever to be offered at auction.

A few weeks later, at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, ClassiCon presented the first authorised production version of this iconic Brick Screen in flawless black lacquer as a limited edition of 75 pieces. ClassiCon is the only manufacturer authorised to produce some Eileen Gray designs by Aram Designs, the worldwide licence holder for Eileen Gray designs.

[caption id="attachment_142" style="text-align: center;" width="449"] Eileen Gray in her apartment at Rue Bonaparte with the Brick Screen[/caption]

Eileen Gray herself was fascinated by the beauty of traditional lacquer work, after stumbling across a small shop in Dean Street, in London’s Soho, in 1906 where she asked if she could learn the technique. The shop owner, Mr Charles, introduced her to Seizo Sugawara – a young Japanese craftsman who emigrated to Paris from Jahoji, a small town in northern Japan famous for its lacquer work, at the time of the 1900 World Fair – after she returned to Paris to her apartment at 21 Rue Bonaparte. They studied and worked together for four years and remained friends until Eileen Gray started to use more modern materials and their lives drifted apart. After the First World War, Eileen Gray was commissioned to decorate an apartment in the Rue de Lota. She lined the hall with four hundred and fifty small rectangular lacquered panels and it was from this concept that she developed the Brick Screen between 1922 and 1930.

[caption id="attachment_145" style="text-align: center;" width="449"] Eileen Gray's Lacquering Tools[/caption]

Lacquer work is far from easy – it is slow, laborious, repetitive and risky. The resin is mildly toxic and there is no way to erase mistakes; each layer must be perfect. These new first authorised production versions of the Brick Screen are made in the same painstaking manner: the fixed and moveable panels are lacquered by hand, layer upon layer, in a process that takes several weeks. Each layer is first allowed to dry completely, then sanded by hand and finally polished to a high, immaculate sheen. Nickel-plated steel rods connect the panels and solid bronze shims, spacers and end-caps add the finishing touches to this exquisite piece. Each screen is discreetly authenticated by a brass inlay along the edge of one panel which shows the ClassiCon logo, Eileen Gray’s signature, authorisation by Aram Designs Ltd and a limited edition number.

The Brick Screen is so much more than a piece of furniture or a room divider. It is undoubtedly a work of art and a valuable collector’s item. It will be in store at ARAM in September.

There is more information on the Brick Screen here, or alternatively contact us by emailing [email protected] or phoning the Store on 020 7557 7557.

Click here for a blog feature by Lucia Van Der Post for the Financial Times 'How To Spend It' magazine.

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