Eileen Gray was born in Ireland in 1878. She grew up in London and was one of the first women admitted to the Slade School of Art in 1898. She moved to Paris in 1902 and after training in Japanese lacquer work she quickly established herself as one of the leading designers of lacquered screens and decorative panels. During the 1920s and 1930s she became one of the leading exponents of revolutionary new theories of design.