Inside Eileen Gray's Modernist Haven, E1027

In 2009, a brown leather armchair standing just 24 inches tall sold at Christie’s for £19.4 million, setting an auction record for 20th-century furniture. It had an illustrious provenance, having sat in the Parisian drawing room of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, but who was the designer, people asked? The name was Gray, Eileen Gray – a quizzical expression remained on most faces.

They can be forgiven their ignorance. Eileen Gray, an Anglo-Irish artist, designer…