White Wire Side Chair by Harry Bertoia for Knoll, 1952 Set of 4
About the Item
- Creator:Harry Bertoia (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1952
- Condition:restored.
- Seller Location:Van Nuys, CA
- Reference Number:
Harry Bertoia
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 modernism. Among furniture aficionados he is known for 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, Bertoia 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. There, 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 Cranbrook, 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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Van Nuys, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- White Bertoia Steel Wire Side Chair With "X" Base by Knoll, Set of 6By KnollLocated in Van Nuys, CASet of 6 original 1950s white steel wire Bertoia side chairs with "X" base by Knoll. Hans and Florence Knoll never insisted that Harry Bertoia design furniture when they originally ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Mid-century Bertoia Style Wire Diamond Lounge by Homecrest, Set of 4Located in Van Nuys, CASet of 4 vintage 1950s Mid-century Bertoia style wire diamond lounge chairs. Each chair featuring a large extra wide 24" wide armrest with a large 34" tall backrest with a round ste...Category
Vintage 1950s American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Atomic Age Iron Wire Side Armchair w/ Leopard Print Seat, PairLocated in Van Nuys, CAPair of modernist Mid Century era iron wire armchairs with leopard print seat. Circa 1950Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal, Iron
- Slipper Chair by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for WiddicombBy John Widdicomb, T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Van Nuys, CAA wonderful Robsjohn-Gibbings armchair with carved teak frame and a tufted eggshell white seat for Widdicomb.Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTeak
- Sets, Rare Orange Stylex "Rythm" Armchair by Sva Cvek, Sets of 5By Stylex, Sava CvekLocated in Van Nuys, CAThis piece is a simple, yet elegant modern "Rhythm" armchair featuring a chromed steel base with a molded "black twilight" plastic seat. The chair was designed by Sava Cvek...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Armchairs
MaterialsPlastic, Plaster
- Chrome Dining Chair and Dining Table Set by Cleo BaldonBy Cleo BaldonLocated in Van Nuys, CAThis set of three dining chairs and dining table was designed by Cleo Baldon for the Terra Furniture Company. Made in rare chrome steel, these post-modern dining chairs feature an X-...Category
Vintage 1970s American Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- 1952, Harry Bertoia for, Knoll International, Large Bird Chair in BlackBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NLThis item is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beach find more details on his family name plus eu, is for sale soon too. :-) Black bird chair...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Diamond Chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll InternationalBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Brussels, BEDiamond chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll International, 6 available Sold par piece 1200€.Category
Vintage 1970s European Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Diamond Chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll InternationalBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Brussels, BEDiamond chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll International, 6 available Sold par piece 1200€.Category
Vintage 1970s European Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Bird Chair by Harry Bertoia for Knoll, 1960sBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Lasne, BEBlack metal chair by Harry Bertoia. Model: Bird. Seat height: 22 cm. Wear due to time and age of the chair.Category
Vintage 1960s Central American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Diamond Chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll InternationalBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Brussels, BEDiamond chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll International, 6 available Sold par piece 1250€.Category
Vintage 1970s European Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Mid Century White Diamond Wire Chairs by Bertoia for KnollBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Detroit, MIThis set of four vintage mid century modern diamond wire lounge chairs designed by Harry Bertoia for Knoll are circa 1970. Originally designed by Bertoia in 1952, the industrial mate...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel, Iron, Wire