All Photos By Gail

Eileen Gray (1879 – 1976) wrote that “Art is not just the expression of abstract relationships. It must also encapsulate the most tangible relations, the most intimate needs of subjective life.”

Consistent with these aims, this freestanding Lacquered Wood Screen (1922) functions both as a movable wall to divide a space, and as an abstract modern sculpture composed of solids and voids. Working in Paris after World War I, Gray popularized and perfected the meticulous art of lacquered furnishings, which struck a chord with the contemporary taste for exotic materials, especially those used in Japanese decorative arts.

Photographed in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Photo Added January 2022