Harry Bertoia 'Diamond' Chair for Knoll
View Similar Items
Harry Bertoia 'Diamond' Chair for Knoll
About the Item
- Creator:Harry Bertoia (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Width: 33.47 in (85 cm)Depth: 28.35 in (72 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Waalwijk, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU93318427293
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 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.
Established in 2006, Morentz has a team of approximately 55 restorers, upholsterers, interior advisers and art historians, making it a gallery, workshop and upholstery studio, all in one. Every day, a carefully selected array of 20th-century furniture arrives from all over the world at the firm’s warehouse, where the team thoroughly examines each piece to determine what, if any, work needs to be done. Whether that means new upholstery or a complete restoration, Morentz's aim is always to honor the designer’s intention while fulfilling the wishes of the client. The team is up to any challenge, from restoring a single piece to its original glory to furnishing a large-scale hotel project.
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll 'Bird' Lounge Chair with Ottoman in Welded SteelBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Waalwijk, NLHarry Bertoia for Knoll, 'bird' easy chair with ottoman, lacquered welded steel, United States, design 1952, later production This Bird armchair with ottoman is a design by Harry Be...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll Outdoor 'Side Chair' in Black Coated SteelBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Waalwijk, NLHarry Bertoia for Knoll International, 'side chair', coated steel, United States, design 1952 This 'side' patio chair is designed by Harry Bertoia in 1952. Executed in black coate...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsSteel
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll 'Bird' Ottoman in Welded SteelBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Waalwijk, NLHarry Bertoia for Knoll, 'bird' ottoman, lacquered welded steel, United States, design 1952, later production This Bird ottoman is a design by Harry Bertoia from 1952. Executed in b...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsSteel
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll Pair of Outdoor 'Side Chairs' in Black Coated SteelBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Waalwijk, NLHarry Bertoia for Knoll International, pair of 'side chairs', coated steel, United States, design 1952 These 'side' patio chairs are designed by Harry Bertoia in 1952. Executed in b...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsSteel
- Studio Tecnico for Mobilquattro 'Delta 699' Lounge ChairsBy Studio TecnicoLocated in Waalwijk, NLStudio Tecnico for Mobilquattro, ‘Delta 699’ lounge chairs, velvet, fiberglass, Italy, 1970s The 'Delta 699' chairs, crafted by Studio Tecnico and G.G. Biemme for Mobilquattro, stan...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Fiberglass
- Florence Knoll for Knoll International Lounge Chair in TeakBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Waalwijk, NLFlorence Knoll for Knoll International, lounge chair, model '51', teak, fabric, United States, 1955 This slipper chair model 51 is designed by Florence Knoll. The teak frame of the chair is sleek in form. The angled seat is placed upon the squared-off frame. Maximum seating comfort is ensured by the wide seat and tilted backrest. Florence Knoll (1917-) was trained as an architect and had a sense of style from a very young age. In 1936 she met Alvar Aalto and was trained by Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. This meant that although she was barely out of her teens, she was educated by the best of the European modernists. When she arrived in New York Knoll worked on interior projects (being the only female) which is how she came to know Hans Knoll. When Florence joined Knoll, the planning unit started. Florence also made sure that the designs where more 'American Modernist' instead of Scandinavian, When Hans Knoll died she...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Teak
- Harry Bertoia "Diamond" Lounge Chair for Knoll, USA, 1980sBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Hellouw, NLA diamond lounge chair by Harry Bertoia for Knoll with Kvadrat Fabric from the USA. This chair is probably produced in the 1980s and has a black frame with a fully covered seating ar...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Large Diamond Chairs by Harry Bertoia for KnollBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Dallas, TXFabulous, iconic pair of large "Diamond Chairs" by Harry Bertoia for Knoll. Black metal frames and yellow upholstery.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll International Bird Chair and OttomanBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Houston, TXHarry Bertoia for Knoll International bird chair and ottoman. This iconic lounge chair and ottoman were originally designed by Harry Bertoia in 1952 and manufactured by Knoll Interna...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$3,880 Sale Price / set20% Off - Harry Bertoia for Knoll Wide White Diamond Chair & Ottoman with Pink UpholsteryBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in St. Louis, MOMid-Century Modern Harry Bertoia for Knoll wide version diamond chair with ottoman, frames are original white paint an original but faded pink Knoll textile covers. Minor scuffs to f...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Early and Rare 'Pre-Production' Harry Bertoia Small Diamond Chair for KnollBy Harry BertoiaLocated in Cincinnati, OHEarly production small diamond chair with a very usual double wire seat configuration, the typical wire structure is in place but an additional larger space...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWire
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll Diamond Chair - ChromeBy Harry BertoiaLocated in Kennett Square, PAChrome diamond chair designed by Harry Bertoia for Knoll - a mid century classic, appears to be fairly recently made. Black leather seat highlights the striking chrome. Always surpri...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome