The private paintings of modernist furniture designer and architect Eileen Gray

Irish furniture designer Eileen Gray is regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture and her lacquer work is still mimicked today. But it wasn’t just furniture Eileen had a talent for, having originally studied painting at the Slade where she was one of the first women to be accepted to the school. Throughout her career Eileen continued to practise painting in her spare time, working mostly in gouache or mixed media on paper.

Providing an outlet for her stress, Eileen’s paintings are a mix of cubist inspired drawings, designs for her carpets or geometric patterns. The simplicity of her paintings is wonderful and abstract, with muted colours and soft textures featuring throughout. The mix of formal shapes like oblongs and circles is lovely when combined with more organic splodges and lines.

Over 60 of Eileen’s paintings are currently on show until 17 November at the Osborne Samuel gallery in London in an exhibition titled Eileen Gray: The Private Painter. Featuring works from the 1920s to the 60s the show also features some of Eileen’s personal belongings and her correspondences to Le Corbusiers and other close friends.