Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 11, 1930, to Charles Eames and Catherine Woermann, Lucia Eames became an artist, graphic designer, owner of the Eames Office, founder of the Eames Foundation, and mother of five.
Lucia grew up in St. Louis and at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where her father studied architecture and later led the Industrial Design department. She attended Kingswood School for Girls and became exceptionally close to her stepmother, Ray Kaiser Eames. After attending Mary Institute and Vassar College, Lucia graduated from Radcliffe College in 1952. Walter Gropius was among her professors, although women were then discouraged from studying architecture at Harvard. She later lived in Massachusetts and the San Francisco Bay Area while maintaining strong ties to St. Louis.
Throughout her life, she created photographs, writings, woven works using found objects, large-scale commissions, and graphic metalwork. Her cut-steel and bronze pieces became especially admired.
After Ray’s death in 1988, Lucia assumed responsibility for the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames. As owner of the Eames Office for 26 years, she protected the authenticity of their designs and transferred operational responsibility to the next generation in 1991. In 1988, Lucia also helped place important Eames archival materials with the Library of Congress. In 2004, she founded the Eames Foundation to oversee the Eames House in Pacific Palisades, California. A National Historic Landmark, the house is widely regarded as a landmark of postwar residential architecture.
Lucia knew leading cultural figures and sustained relationships with generations of Eames collaborators, including the DePree family at Herman Miller and the Fehlbaum family at Vitra. Her legacy combines her own artistic achievements with careful stewardship of Modern design. Her work helped preserve the Eames philosophy, archives, home, and designs, ensuring their authenticity and accessibility for future generations.
Carla Hartman, one of 5 children of Lucia Eames, shares memories of life with her mother, who passed away in 2014.