Eileen Gray Arguably the most important woman to have worked in the male-dominated fields of design and architecture, Eileen Gray was responsible for many of the most enduring examples of early 20th Century furniture design, and her houses continue to influence architects.

She was particularly loved for her ability to humanise the industrial materials loved by the modernists, adding opulence and sensitivity to their rigidly geometric forms.

In 1925 she designed the Bibendum chair, named so after the appearance of the character in Michelin's advertisements.

Between 1925-28 Gray designed her highly famous adjustable side table originally for the guess room of Villa E1027, designed by Eileen Gray together with Jean Badovici, the Romanian intellectual and Le Corbusier's friend who apparently had a decisive share in convincing the designer to devote herself entirely to architecture.