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.
Harry Bertoia Melt Pressed Bronze Figural Sculpture, 1970s
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Dallas, TX
A figurative vertical form with two protrusions on top constructed of melt pressed bronze (heated numerous times, squeezed, and shaped. Includes provenance and hand-signed COA from t...
Bronze
$1,900
H 7.75 in W 9.5 in D 3.25 in
Henge, sculpture by Kerry Green, copper, bronze, abstract, figures, metal sculpt
By Kerry Green
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Henge, sculpture by Kerry Green, copper, bronze, abstract, figures, metal sculpture Since childhood, Kerry Green has always been creative; painting, drawing, sculpting, and sewing. Her family provided her with materials and encouraged her efforts. She literally grew up in her parents’ art galleries, and with them toured the U.S., Europe, Mexico, Japan, and New Zealand, seeing museums and visiting artists’ studios. Growing up in Arizona and New Mexico gave her the opportunity to explore the Native reservations there where she has made life-long friendships. Several of her very early influences were Dr. Harry Wood...
Bronze, Copper
$2,350
H 12 in Dm 4 in
David Hostetler Bronze Sculpture Figurative Green Full FigureSmall By Commission
By David Hostetler
Located in Nantucket, MA
The Classic Lady bronze was cast from a wood carving. She is David's most petite sculpture. Movement and grace with the twist at the waist and tilt of the head. She can add beauty to...
Bronze
$6,824
H 11.42 in W 7.09 in D 7.09 in
Belli by Yann Guillon - Semi-abstract bronze sculpture, female torso
By Yann Guillon
Located in Paris, FR
Belli is a bronze sculpture by French contemporary artist Yann Guillon, dimensions are 29 × 18 × 18 cm (11.4 × 7.1 × 7.1 in). This sculpture is signed and numbered, it is part of a...
Bronze
$4,353
H 11.82 in W 4.34 in
Miles Davis Trumpeter Jazz Musician Bronze Figurative Men Sculpture In Stock
By Jits Bakker
Located in Utrecht, NL
Miles Davis Trumpetist Jazz Musician Bronze Figurative Men Sculpture In Stock Jits Bakker was a versatile Dutch artist: sculptor, painter, watercolorist, drawer, glass artist, silve...
Stone, Bronze
$4,118
H 12.21 in W 7.88 in D 4.73 in
Yes! - 21st Century bronze animal sculpture of a orangutan
By Antoinette Briet
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Antoinette Briet (Dutch artist) Yes! 31 x 20 x 14 cm Bronze Antoinette Briet's sculpture can be called both a figurative and an abstract work of art. Her sculpted animals show their...
Bronze
$15,707
H 17.72 in W 7.88 in D 7.88 in
Dialoog Sculpture Bronze Dialogue Talk Interaction Cubism Abstract In Stock
By Thomas Junghans
Located in Utrecht, NL
Dialoog Sculpture Bronze Dialogue Talk Interaction Cubism Abstract In Stock Junghans (1956, Recklinghausen) creates abstract sculptures in stone, wood and bronze, mostly torsos and ...
Bronze
Resonance 1/9
By JD Hansen
Located in Napa, CA
jd Hansen creates art that explores the juxtaposition of vulnerability and strength using the human and animal form. Her work excavates the intricacies of human psychology, non-verba...
Bronze
Romp 12/30
By Sandy Graves
Located in Napa, CA
Born in Colorado and raised in Nebraska, Sandy Graves first forayed into the art world by presenting work as a child and 4-H member at local county fairs. As she continued her educat...
Bronze
$669
H 9.5 in W 4 in D 4 in
Playing Flute, Bronze Sculpture, Figurative by Contemporary Artist “In Stock”
By Tushar Kanti Das Roy
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Tushar Kanti Das Roy - Untitled H 7.75 x W 3.75 x D 2 inches (Without Stand) H 9.5 x W 4 x D 4 inches (With Stand) Bronze Sculpture About the Artist & his work : Born : 1968. Educat...
Bronze
$98,000
H 7.49 in W 3.55 in D 6.11 in
Mother and Child: Petal Skirt - Henry Moore, sculpture, modern, british, small
By Henry Moore
Located in London, GB
Henry Moore (1898-1986) Mother and Child: Petal Skirt conceived in 1955; cast in 1955 bronze; edition 4 of 6 plus 1 artist’s proof by the Fiorini foundry, London 19 x 9 x 15.5 cm (in...
Bronze
$1,351
H 5.52 in W 1.58 in D 6.7 in
1980 Italy Post Modern Abstract Bronze Sculpture Horse Head
By Roberto Nanut
Located in Brescia, IT
This is an interesting multiple artwork signed by the author Roberto Nanut, a talented artist of years 80' in Italy. This is a multiple of a numbered edition of 1.000 pieces; we can...
Bronze
French Modernist Bronze Abstract Figural Sculpture on Mahogany Wood Base
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
9-410 Abstract figural bronzesculpture set on a wood base
Bronze