I have been a fan of the series From the Vaults platform by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It presents materials from the Museum’s archive of films and documentaries, rarely seen. The new addition is particularly interesting to those interested in design and architecture. Metropolitan Overview: A Proposal for a Central Guide to the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a documentary by Charles and Ray Eames in 1975.
This film came to provide the public with an access to the collection before the digital age. This documentary gives us a glimpse into the couple’s career in the 1970s, after their more known chapter when they created modernist furniture in the years following the Second World War. The production coincided with the opening of a three-year, Eames-designed traveling exhibition celebrating the American Revolution Bicentennial. The World of Franklin and Jefferson (1975–77), which toured internationally from Paris to Warsaw to London. Then, in March of 1976, the exhibition opened at The Met before continuing its North American travels. As Charle Eames died the following year, this project was among the last of his life and work partnership with Ray.
The film, newly restored by the Library of Congress and brought to public view for the first time by The Met in collaboration with the Eames Office and the Charles and Ray Eames Foundation, illuminates the rich activity of the Eameses across the board. Images: © 2025 Eames Office, LLC. All rights reserved.
