Eileen Gray served as an Irish furniture architect and designer who helped spearhead the Modern Movement in architecture. She was born on Aug. 9, 1878 in Ireland and encouraged to explore her artistic interests at a young age by her parents. In 1898, Gray studied painting at the Slade School of Fine Art. She took a trip to the Exposition Universelle, an Art Noveau-style fair that celebrated the achievements of the past century, in 1900. Gray later moved to Paris and continued her studies at the Acadmie Julian and Acadmie Colarossi.

Gray eventually began working with lacquer and was given the job of decorating the apartment of boutique owner Madame Mathieu Lvy. The project lasted from 1917 to 1921, and Gray created the Bibendum Chair, the Serpent Chair and the Pirogue Boat Bed during that time. Her works reflected a modernist design that was both innovative and practical. In 1924, Gray began work on the house E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in southern France. E-1027 featured an open, compact design that was rectilinear and flat-roofed with floor-to-ceiling and ribbon windows and a spiral stairway descending to a guest room.

In 1937, Gray agreed to exhibit her Tempe Pailla home design for a holiday center in Le Corbusier's Esprit Nouveau pavilion at the Paris Exposition. Tempe Pailla served as a home and work space for Gray that included long, narrow forms and many decks for distinct views and storage. In addition, the house reflected Gray's commitment to privacy, as many of the rooms were hidden in the rear of the home. Gray returned to Paris after the completion of Tempe Pailla and spent much of the rest of her life as a recluse. At 80 years old, she transformed an agricultural shed outside Saint-Tropez into a summer home, one of her final works. She died in Paris in October 1976 at the age of 98.