Born to an aristocratic family in Ireland, Eileen Gray first studied at the Slade School for Fine Arts in London and then settled in Paris in 1907 where she began a career that spanned seven decades. Gray’s father, James, was a keen amateur painter and encouraged his daughter to paint too. He took his daughter on painting tours of Italy and Switzerland which was where some of her approach to design evolved. Eileen Gray did not want delicate luxury furniture for her house in Castellar, on the way from Menton to the Alps, but instead versatile pieces, like the eileen gray table, for everyday use.