Sculptor, furniture and jewelry designer, graphic artist and metalsmith, Harry Bertoia was one of the great cross-disciplinarians of 20th-century art and design and a central figure in American mid-century modernism. Among furniture aficionados, Bertoia is known for his chairs such as the wire-lattice Diamond chair (and its variants such as the tall-backed Bird chair) designed for Knoll Inc. and first released in 1952.
As an artist, he is revered for a style that was his alone. Bertoia’s metal sculptures are by turns expressive and austere, powerful and subtle, intimate in scale and monumental. All embody a tension between the intricacy and precision of Bertoia’s forms and the raw strength of his materials: steel, brass, bronze and copper.
Fortune seemed to guide Bertoia’s artistic development. Born in northeastern Italy, Bertoia immigrated to the United States at age 15, joining an older brother in Detroit. He studied drawing and metalworking in the gifted student program at Cass Technical High School. Recognition led to awards that culminated, in 1937, in a teaching scholarship to attend the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Bloomfield Hills, one of the great crucibles of modernism in America.
At Cranbrook, Bertoia made friendships — with architect Eero Saarinen, designers Charles and Ray Eames and Florence Schust Knoll and others — that shaped the course of his life. He taught metalworking at the school, and when materials rationing during World War II limited the availability of metals, Bertoia focused on jewelry design. He also experimented with monotype printmaking, and 19 of his earliest efforts were bought by the Guggenheim Museum.
In 1943, he left Cranbrook to work in California with the Eameses, helping them develop their now-famed plywood furniture. (Bertoia received scant credit.) Late in that decade, Florence and Hans Knoll persuaded him to move east and join Knoll Inc. His chairs became and remain perennial bestsellers. Royalties allowed Bertoia to devote himself full-time to metal sculpture, a medium he began to explore in earnest in 1947.
By the early 1950s Bertoia was receiving commissions for large-scale works from architects — the first came via Saarinen — as he refined his aesthetic vocabulary into two distinct skeins. One comprises his “sounding sculptures” — gongs and “Sonambient” groupings of rods that strike together and chime when touched by hand or by the wind. The other genre encompasses Bertoia’s naturalistic works: abstract sculptures that suggest bushes, flower petals, leaves, dandelions or sprays of grass.
As you will see on these pages, Harry Bertoia was truly unique; his art and designs manifest a wholly singular combination of delicacy and strength.
Find vintage Harry Bertoia sculptures, armchairs, benches and other furniture and art on 1stDibs.
Pair of Mid-Century Modern Harry Bertoia "Wire" Chairs for Knoll
Located in TOULOUSE, FR
■ ABOUT THE PIECE Presented by Les Merciers gallery, this is an authentic vintage pair of "Wire" chairs, designed by master sculptor Harry Bertoia for Knoll International. Curator's ...
Steel
Set of 4 Mid-Century Modern Tulip Chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in TOULOUSE, FR
■ ABOUT THE PIECE Presented by Les Merciers gallery, this is an authenticated vintage set of 4 iconic "Tulip" chairs. Designed by the visionary architect Eero Saarinen in 1956 for Kn...
Fiberglass
Mid-Century Modern Charles Pollock Executive Chair in Grey Fabric for Knoll
By Charles Pollock
Located in TOULOUSE, FR
■ ABOUT THE PIECE Presented by Les Merciers gallery, this is an iconic Mid-Century Modern "Executive" desk chair, designed by Charles Pollock in 1963 for Knoll International. Fully a...
Chrome
Signed Marble Tulip Dining Set for 4 by Saarinen for Knoll
Located in TOULOUSE, FR
An absolute icon of mid-century modernism, this authentic Tulip dining set was designed by the visionary Eero Saarinen in 1957 for Knoll International. Created to resolve what Saarin...
Marble
Vintage Cognac Leather Pollock Executive Chair by Knoll
By Charles Pollock
Located in TOULOUSE, FR
Conceived in 1965 by the visionary designer Charles Pollock for Knoll, the Pollock Executive Chair remains one of the most celebrated achievements in mid-century modern furniture des...
Chrome
Vintage Eurostyle Space Age Dining Set — Clear Glass & Chrome (1970s)
By Euro International
Located in TOULOUSE, FR
A spectacular representation of 1970s futuristic design, this remarkable dining set belongs to the iconic "Eurostyle" collection. Embracing the bold, utopian vision of the Space Age ...
Chrome
Set of Four Harry Bertoia Wire Side Chair (Model 420) Mid Century Modern Knoll
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Chula Vista, CA
For your consideration a set of four (4) Harry Bertoia Wire Side Chair (Model 420), originally designed in 1952 for Knoll International. This classic of mid-century modern design fe...
Chrome
Set of 4 Dining Chairs designed by Harry BERTOIA for Knoll International, 1970s
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Berlin, Berlin
A set of black and white Side Chairs, designed by Harry Bertoia. U.S.A., Knoll International, 1970s. Vintage set of side chairs with burnt orange-coloured velvet pads. The Bertoia S...
Metal
1950s Set of Four Harry Bertoia for Knoll Child Size Side Chair No. 425-N
By Harry Bertoia, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a set of four Child's Bertoia Side Chair with seat cushion, originally designed by Harry Bertoia in 1955. These particular examples were produced by Knoll in the USA in the 1...
Steel
Harry Bertoia for Knoll. Set of 5 chairs. 1970s.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Harry Bertoia for Knoll Set of 5 chrome-plated steel chairs. American design from the 1970s. Dimensions: H 74.5 x W 53.5 x D 45 x Seat H 44 cm Reference: LS6721 + 5752705/5M We ...
Steel, Chrome
Set of 4 Chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll Ready for Upholstery, USA, c. 1960s
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Deland, FL
Introducing a rare and limited set of "Diamond" chairs designed by the influential Harry Bertoia for Knoll. First designed in 1952 for Knoll, the diamond chair was by far Bertoia's most famous and recognized design and formed part of his 5-piece wire-made body of work for Knoll called the "Bertoia Collection". The Diamond chair is characterized by a fluid, sculptural form made from a welded lattice work of steel. In Bertoia's own words, "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like (a) sculpture. Space passes right through them." The chairs were produced with varying degrees of upholstery over their light grid-work, and they were handmade at first because a suitable mass production process could not be found and that's exactly how the upholstery can be re-done for these chairs - by hand. Featuring new automotive-grade, single-stage polyurethane paint, this expansive set is ready for re-upholstery a fabric of your choosing. Harry Bertoia was an Italian-born welder, sculpture and designer who after moving to the US in 1930, began studying design at Cranbrook Academy of Art where he met and befriended the likes of Ray Eames and Florence Knoll. In 1950 he began working for Knoll creating, among others, the now iconic "Diamond Chair" and the "Bird Chair". His work has been internationally recognized for it's forward-thinking approach and it's literal bending of both metal and rules set for Modern design and his work is on permanent display across the globe in such museums as France's Musée National d'Art Moderne. Knoll, now MillerKnoll, Inc., is an American company founded in 1938 that manufactures office systems, seating, storage systems, tables, desks, textiles, and accessories for the home, office, and higher education. The company is the licensed manufacturer of furniture designed by architects and designers such as Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll, Frank Gehry, Charles Gwathmey, Maya Lin, Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen, and Lella and Massimo Vignelli. Over 40 Knoll designs, including the "Diamond Chair", can be found in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. With their iconic warped-screen frames and famous comfort this set of "Diamond Chairs" is ideal for collectors and designers alike searching for a set of authentic, vintage Bertoia...
Metal
Early Vintage Table and Chairs in the Style of Harry Bertoia for Knoll, Set of 3
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Bloomfield Hills, MI
Knoll historian Brian Lutz once said “Bertoia’s paintings were better than his sculptures. And his sculptures were better than his furniture. And his furniture was absolutely brilliant.” This original table and chair set is a fabulous find...
Metal
For nearly three decades, San Francisco–based Todd Hosfelt has curated against the grain — with a show on the legendary modernist Harry Bertoia the latest case in point.
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
