RAR (Rocking Armchair Rod)
Design Date 1948–1950
Designer Charles Eames (1907–1978, American) & Ray Eames (1912–1988, American)
Manufacturer Herman Miller Furniture Co. (1923–present), Zeeland, MI
Media fiberglass-reinforced polyester, wood & metal
Dimensions 27 x 25 x 27 1/4 inches
Charles and Ray Eames originally designed the RAR to be made of metal and then sprayed with neoprene (a synthetic rubber) to make it more comfortable. However, by the time the chair was able to be produced, Herman Miller had the technology to make the seat in polyester, reinforced with strands of fiberglass. The use of fiberglass for furnishings was a novel and innovative idea. Originally it came only in gray, parchment or a gray-beige color, but eventually it was made in a wide variety of bright colors. According to some experts, purple is the rarest of the Eames rocking chair colors.
ON VIEW in Modern Gallery 7
Markings Herman Miller paper label on bottom of seat with “1-19-70” handwritten in black marker; additional smaller paper label faded and illegible.
Credit Line Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
Accession Number 1995.0013
