Bertoia Bird Chair and Ottoman for Knoll in Cato Fabric
View Similar Items
Bertoia Bird Chair and Ottoman for Knoll in Cato Fabric
About the Item
- Creator:Harry Bertoia (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 39.25 in (99.7 cm)Width: 38.5 in (97.79 cm)Depth: 34.5 in (87.63 cm)Seat Height: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1952
- Condition:frame has been repainted and fabric cover is new.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: AH0021stDibs: LU84301288100
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.
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll ”BIRD” ChairBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAHarry Bertoia Bird Frame or High Back Diamond. Black metal frame with 4 rubber bushings that let that chair rock slightly. Newer Knoll cover in the last 10-15 years. Cover is very...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Bertoia for Knoll Large Diamond Chair and Ottoman with New Knoll Cover!By Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAHarry Bertoia for Knoll Large Diamond Chair and Ottoman. Ottoman measures 23.5 x 16.5 and 14.5" tall. New Cover in a Knoll Fabric. On close inspection fabric is woven of threads of r...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$2,280 Sale Price / set20% Off - Harry Bertoia for Knoll Large Diamond ChairBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAHarry Bertoia for Knoll large diamond chair with a green cover. Base is original white. Bushings are in good shape, and overall the cover is pretty clean! ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$1,480 Sale Price32% Off - Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb Chair and OttomanBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Philadelphia, PAEero Saarinen for Knoll Womb Chair and ottoman. Probably one of the most comfortable chairs ever created! This chair and ottoman d...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$6,800 / set - Warren Platner Easy Lounge Chair and Ottoman in Original Cado Red Fabric/ 1970By Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAWarren Platner Lounge chair and ottoman in it's Original Cado Red Fabric! Upholstery was removed from frame and all new foam was installed, Fabric is in great shape, with slight wear...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsNickel
- Florence Knoll Double Dresser in Teak for KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAFlorence Knoll for Knoll Double Teak Dresser on chrome stainless steel base with adjustable feet. Top newly refinished, entire cabinet cleaned and oiled. Drawers retain white drawe...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsChrome
- Harry Bertoia for Knoll International Bird Chair and OttomanBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in The Hague, NLHarry 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
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- 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 - Bird Chair + Ottoman by Harry Bertoia for KnollBy Knoll, Harry BertoiaLocated in Chicago, ILc. 1960s. Price is for the set. Contact us if you’d like to purchase a single item. Wire frame, good for indoor or outdoor use.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$2,200 / set - Art Deco Adolf Loos Style Josef Frank Fabric Vintage Rocking Lounge Chair 1920sBy Adolf LoosLocated in Vienna, ATArt Deco rocking lounge chair model "Knieschwimmer" in the style of Adolf Loos from the 1920s. An amazing rocking lounge chair with a frame and rocking curves from solid cherrywood a...Category
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Chaise Longues
MaterialsFabric, Cherry
- Rare Willy Rizzo Rocking Chair in Black Steel and White LeatherBy Willy RizzoLocated in Waalwijk, NLAttributed to Willy Rizzo, rocking chair, lacquered steel, leather, rubber rope, Italy, late 1960s This unique rocking chair by Willy Rizzo hardl...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Mid-Century Modern Gray Leather Armchair and Ottoman with Brushed Steel ArmsLocated in Middleburg, VAThe Mid-Century Modern gray leather armchair and ottoman set with Brushed Steel Arms is a great example of mid-century modern design. The recent...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsSteel