Steven Benedict lays the foundations in his review of E.1027 — Eileen Gray and The House by the Sea.
Imaginatively directed by Beatrice Minger and Christoph Schaub, E.1027 — Eileen Gray and The House by the Sea is a feature-length documentary that blends archival material and re-created scenes to explore an episode in the life of one of Ireland’s most influential — and yet overlooked — artists. Specialising in furniture design (lamps, chairs, couches, beds, rugs, stools and screens) and architecture, Eileen Gray fused the Bauhaus, Art Deco and De Stijl aesthetics to deliver a unique and far-reaching impact. That she did so in an age when men still dominated every facet of artistic life makes her achievements even more remarkable.
Gray’s supreme — and most abused — achievement is the house, E.1027, which she designed almost one hundred years ago. Located on the French southeast coast, E.1027 is a quintessential instance of architectural modernity — singular, clean and compact. That Gray conceived of it without ever having studied architecture indicates the reach of her talent — one that, paradoxically, she never fully exploited nor conquered. What Gray lacked was brutal ambition, and it was brutal ambition that almost destroyed her greatest work.
Gray built the house as a home for herself and her then-partner, Jean Badovici. As such, E.1027 recognises the architectural principles laid out by French maestro Le Corbusier. More than any other architect of the 20th century, Le Corbusier redefined what a building could or should be — and it was he who famously said, “A house is a machine for living.”
While E.1027 more than bears the hallmarks of Le Corbusier’s aesthetic, I would go further in saying it is one of the greatest Le Corbusier houses Le Corbusier never designed. To prove it was no fluke, Gray planned and built two more houses. But her relationship with Badovici soured, she vacated E.1027 — and unwisely left the house to him. A weak character, both Badovici and the house were soon at the mercy of Le Corbusier.
Le Corbusier had that ambition, and he brought it to bear on E.1027. For reasons never explicitly declared in the documentary — but ones which can be easily inferred — Le Corbusier gained access to the house and proceeded to daub crude paintings on the walls, thereby degrading its minimalist aesthetic. Later, he even went so far as to let people believe he had designed it.
So began a conflict between Gray and Le Corbusier. But lacking the brutality required to reclaim her work, Gray would not win it in her lifetime. This is the main thrust of the documentary, and Minger and Schaub use various techniques — sometimes historical material, sometimes contemporary footage shot inside the now happily restored house. At other times — and most interestingly — they present scenes on a soundstage with flat screens to inventively imagine the spaces of E.1027. Complementing these images, they use diaries, correspondences and original texts to narrate the events. It brings Gray, Badovici and Le Corbusier to life, with actors Natalie Radmall-Quirke, Axel Moustache and Charles Morillon as the principals.
The problem Minger and Schaub face is the protracted nature of the Gray/Le Corbusier conflict — it took place over a lengthy period, with the opponents never coming face to face. To combat this, Minger and Schaub adopt a ruminative approach, with Gray’s voiceovers offering reflections on art and life. But while it is illuminating, overall the approach lacks momentum.
Perhaps the budget prevented otherwise, but widening the perspective to include the rest of Gray’s fascinating life — and then telescoping to this event — might have benefited. It would have shown us more of what Gray achieved. Certainly, Gray’s years surrounding this event were intriguing. So intriguing that, back in the 1990s, Jodie Foster momentarily flirted with a Gray biopic. It’s not difficult to see why.
Born to a wealthy family of British aristocratic ancestry in Wexford in 1878, Gray moved to London when she was twenty years old and became one of the first women to enrol at the Slade School of Fine Art. But this was late Victorian Britain and, for women from genteel homes, fashionable art academies were viewed as little more than finishing schools for young ladies before they married. So Gray decamped to Paris, where she entered the Académie Julian to study drawing. There, she encountered the likes of Auguste Rodin, Gustave Courtois and Gertrude Stein — but again felt stymied by her tutors. However, she found inspiration and direction in the work of Japanese lacquer master Seizo Sugawara. Gray perfected the technique and, opening her workshop, she was soon not only embraced by Paris’ avant-garde but also secured a clientele of the city’s elite.
Throughout her years there, she shared her love with several women — all well-monied and all from the art world. The First World War saw her driving Red Cross ambulances and, returning to Paris in time for Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, she turned her hand to architecture — and it resulted in one of the greatest designs of the 20th century.
World War Two saw her interned as a foreign national and, during this time, the Nazis used E.1027 as target practice. Never one to seek the limelight, her reputation was damaged by Le Corbusier and, even though it has been restored since her death in 1976, a final insult was hurled when her family failed to pay the licence fee for her grave in Paris — and as a result, her final resting place is not identifiable.
As for Le Corbusier, he drowned in 1965 while swimming in the sea directly in front of E.1027. Since Jodie Foster never committed, perhaps someone could pitch this story to Saoirse Ronan.
P.S. If you want to see more of Gray’s work, visit Collins Barracks in Dublin, where a permanent exhibition displays her achievements.
E.1027 — Eileen Gray and The House by the Sea is in selected cinemas on 16th May 2025.
