Early Harry Bertoia Wood Slat Bench for Knoll International, circa 1960
View Similar Items
Early Harry Bertoia Wood Slat Bench for Knoll International, circa 1960
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Maker),Harry Bertoia (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)Width: 66 in (167.64 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU887811977641
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.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- 1960's J.G Casas Modernist Abstract Figural Wood Carved Sculpture Mexican ArtistBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in San Diego, CAWe are offering a wonderful hand carved wood figural sculpture by Mexican artist, J.G. Casas, circa 1960's. The sculpture has the original JOM Calidad, Mexico tag on the bottom. Grea...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsWood
- 1960's, J.G Casas Modernist Abstract Animal Wood Carved Sculpture Mexican ArtistBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in San Diego, CAWe are offering a wonderful hand carved wood animal sculpture by Mexican artist, J.G. Casas, circa 1960's. The sculpture has the orig...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsWood
- Mexican Listed Artist James Pinto Abstract Bronze Sculpture, circa 1960sBy James PintoLocated in San Diego, CAGreat abstract bronze sculpture by Mexican listed artist James Pinto, circa 1960s. The sculpture is made of solid bronze and is signed by the artist. Great form and displays well. Me...Category
Vintage 1960s Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Early Mario Gambaro for Murano Art Glass Gold Fleck Millefiori Vase Italy SignedBy Mario GambaroLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful controlled bubble green art glass vase made by Mario Bambaro for Murano glass, circa 1960s. Gold fleck throughout the vase. Has a millefiori design on the front. Has the or...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- 1960's Aldo Londi Bitossi for Raymor Italy Abstract Ceramic Pottery Bird VaseBy Raymor, BitossiLocated in San Diego, CAWonderful vintage Aldo Londi Bitossi ceramic/pottery red ashtray, circa 1960s. Made in Italy and is signed on the bottom. Appears to have never been used. ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Ashtrays
MaterialsCeramic
- 1960's Aldo Londi Bitossi for Raymor Italy Abstract Ceramic Pottery Rimini VaseBy Raymor, BitossiLocated in San Diego, CAWonderful vintage Aldo Londi Bitossi ceramic/pottery Rimini blue vase, circa 1960s. Made in Italy and is signed on the bottom. Appears to have never been used. Great abstract form an...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Beautiful Midcentury Slat Bench by Harry Bertoia for Knoll, USA, 1950sBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Vienna, ATA beautiful modernist ashwood slat bench with an iron base from the 1950s. Designed by Harry Bertoia for Knoll. Restored, in very good condition. The bench also makes a great coffee ...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsIron
- Mid-Century Slat Bench by Harry Bertoia for KnollBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in BROOKLYN, NYWonderful mid-century slat bench or coffee table by Harry Bertoia for Knoll, 1950s. Stained ash. Early original Bowtie Label (Knoll Associates) that predates Knoll International. Has...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
- Harry Bertoia Early Solid Rosewood Slat Bench1951 First Year ProductionBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Chicago, ILHarry Bertoia early solid rosewood slat bench 1951 first year production, original white painted base, Oil finish. Retains old label on underside [Knoll...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsRosewood
- Very Early Knoll Bertoia Slat Bench with Black Iron LegsBy Harry BertoiaLocated in Kensington, MDSeven slats of blond wood are supported at either end by slender, elegant iron legs on this stunning bench by Harry Bertoia for Knoll. This bench is known as Model 400 and was part o...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWood
Price Upon Request - Harry Bertoia, Bench Model 400By Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Firenze, ITHarry Bertoia Bench Model 400 Bench model 400 designed by Harry Bertoia, metal legs and wooden slatted seat. Manufactured by Knoll International, USA, late 1950s Bibliography: S. Ro...Category
Vintage 1950s Benches
MaterialsMetal
- 1950s Harry Bertoia for Knoll Associates Model 400 Bench in Oak with Black BaseBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is an iconic slatted oak bench designed by Harry Bertoia and produced by Knoll. It dates to circa 1952. This piece was constructed using solid oak wood for the top an...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel