Constant, p.19. Constant puts forward the theory that Gray’s architecture was inspired by the Ballet Russes; the way in which Bakst’s costumes liberated the movement of the body in motion inspired Gray’s interest in liberating the body in its occupation of space. She also states that Baskt’s concentration on the expressive potential of the entire group of dancers caused Gray to eliminate the distinction between architecture and furnishings, merging them into an organic whole. Finally she states that Nijinsky’s performances, merging masculine and feminine traits, were reflected in the way in which Gray fused furniture and architecture together. Constant suggests that the concept for the Ballet could have been instigated by Jacques Rouche’s Carnaval des Animaux at the Théâtre des Arts 1911.
17Born 1892, one of eight children, she changed her name to Marisa Damia after being discovered by Jacques Doherty. By 1912 she was famous and her records sold in thousands.
18Adam, Peter, Eileen Gray:Architect/Designer: A Biography, London, Thames and Hudson, 2000, pp. 108-9. Adam states that Rolf de Mare for the Ballet Suédois commissioned artists such as Francis Picabia, Fernand Léger and Pierre Bonnard to design for him; the Comte de Beaumont rented the Théâtre de Pigalle and commissioned a series of ballets designed by George Braque, Picasso and André Derain.
19Cocteau, Jean, Dessins, Paris, Delamain, Boutelleau et Cie, 1923.
20NMIEG 2003.337, letter from Eileen Gray to Prunella Clough, 1970s.
21NMIEG 2003.80, Méral, Paul, Le Dit des Jeux du Monde, Paris, Presse de l’Imprimerie Studium, 1918.
22NMIEG 2000.120 – NMIEG 2000.131, NMIEG 2003.530, drawings for Ballet des Animaux
23Ibid.
24Ibid, Adam, p.109.
25Georges-Michel, Michel and George, Waldemar, Les Ballets Russes de Serge de Diaghilew, Décors et costumes, Paris, Galerie Billiet, 1930.
26V&A Archives, AAD/1980/9, un-numbered ground floor plan.
27NMIEG 2000.132, drawing for a mural for a nursery.
28V&A Archives, AAD/1980/9, un-numbered drawing for a fresco for a child’s bedroom.
29Adam, Peter, Eileen Gray: Architect/Designer: A Biography, London, Thames & Hudson, 1987, p.330, see illustration.
30NMIEG 2000.133 - 2000.136, drawings for a mural in a daycare centre.
31Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York, Stephen Haweis Papers, Arranged Miscellaneous Memoirs, Box 2, letter from Eileen Gray to Stephen Haweis, 14 February 1963.
32Picasso, Pablo, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907, oil on canvas, 243.7 x 233.7 cm, New York, MoMA.
33NMIEG 2003.66, Apollinaire, Guillaume, Les Peintres Cubistes, Editions Eugène Figuière et Cie, Paris, 1913.
34NMIEG 2003.150, abstract drawing.
35NMIEG 2000.173, Tempe à Pailla collage.
36Adam, Peter, Eileen Gray: Architect/Designer: A Biography, London, Thames and Hudson, 1987, p.188.
37NMIEG 2000.176, newspaper collage.
38Gray’s carpet designs were abstract in design but the inclusion of lettering, maps and plans usually referred to a person, place or memory.
39Clapp, Susannah, With Chatwin: Portrait of a Writer, New York, 1997, p.24.
40NMIEG 2000.172, Roquebrune coastline collage.
41Polo, Roberto, Eileen Gray-Œuvres sur Papier, Paris, Galerie Historismus, 2007, p.67.
42NMIEG 2003.122, black, grey and beige gouache with architectural plan motif. NMIEG 2003.118, black and white speckled gouache and collage.
43NMIEG 2000.173, Tempe à Pailla collage. Dating from 1931-34, this collage shows Gray’s experimentation with Synthetic Cubism.
44NMIEG 2000.90, Tempe à Pailla site plan.
45NMIEG 2000.174, green, white, blue gouache and collage.
46NMIEG 2000.169, collage elements.
47NMIEG 2003.118, black and white speckled gouache and collage.
48NMIEG 2000.169, NMIEG 2003.1569, Cultural and Social Centre, Stage design for Épopée Irlandaise.
49Polo, Roberto, Eileen Gray-Œuvres sur Papier, Paris, Galerie Historismus, 2007, p.72.
50NMIEG 2000.177, black and white collage. NMIEG 2003.123, black, grey and white gouache with yellow motif. Polo, Roberto, Eileen Gray-Œuvres sur Papier, Paris, Galerie Historismus, 2007, p.77.
51NMIEG 2003.145, black with green circle gouache and collage.
52NMIEG 2003.129, black gouache with dark green and speckled motifs. NMIEG 2003.123, black, grey and white gouache with yellow motif.
53Einstein,
