Image source: Knoll — Bertoia Collection
© Knoll and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Collection Story
Origin
Knoll's collection page says Florence and Hans Knoll gave Harry Bertoia the freedom to create whatever he wanted in whichever material he desired, asking only that he show them if he arrived at something interesting, and that the Bertoia Collection was introduced in 1952. The Knoll brochure dates the start to 1950, when the Knolls set up a studio for Bertoia near East Greenville, Pennsylvania; Florence Knoll recalled, "His assignment was very open," in the brochure. On the page for the collection Knoll also quotes Bertoia on the material he found: "When it came to rod or wire, whether bent or straight, I seemed to find myself at home," he said.
Design Language
The brochure says Bertoia worked with his own hands, trying variations and never satisfied, and that different chair functions emerged from this process, for dining, for sitting or for reading, each with its own natural form. Knoll's cut sheets quote his words that the chairs are mainly made of air, like sculpture, and that space passes through them. According to the side chair sheet, the collection is made of welded wire and steel, and its molded shell and leather-wrapped options express the organic lines of the wire-framed chairs.
Image source: Knoll — Bertoia Collection · © Knoll and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official website ↗ · Image use & copyright policy
Wikipedia adds that the chairs were handmade at first because no suitable mass production process could be found, and that their commercial success was immediate.
Key Pieces
- Diamond Chair, Large Diamond Chair and Child's Diamond Chair
- Bird Chair and its ottoman
- Side Chair, Molded Shell Side Chair (also stacking) and Leather-Covered Side Chair
- Barstool, Molded Shell Barstool and Leather-Covered Barstool
- Bench
- Asymmetric Chaise, which Knoll's brochure says had until recently not been manufactured beyond the prototype phase
Pieces in this collection
Bertoia Leather-Covered Side Chair
Bertoia's leather-covered shell side chair, model 420L, on a welded rod sled base
Bertoia Diamond Chair
Harry Bertoia's 1952 welded steel rod lounge chair, with a seat pad or a full cover
Bertoia Asymmetric Chaise
Bertoia's Asymmetric Chaise: a 1950 wire prototype put into production in 2005
Bertoia Barstool
Harry Bertoia's 1952 welded steel rod barstool, in bar and counter heights
Bertoia Bird Chair
Bertoia's high-backed wire Bird Chair, 40.25 in high, with a matching ottoman
Bertoia Leather-Covered Barstool
Bertoia's leather-covered shell barstool in counter and bar heights, 426L and 428L
Bertoia Bench
Bertoia's first piece for Knoll: a 72 in slatted bench on a welded wire base
Bertoia Large Diamond Chair
Bertoia's generously sized Large Diamond wire chair, 45 in wide, 31.5 in high
Bertoia Molded Shell Barstool
Bertoia's 1960 molded shell barstool in counter and bar heights, six shell colours
Bertoia Molded Shell Side Chair
Bertoia's 1960 side chair with a molded shell in six colours, reintroduced in 2017
Bertoia Side Chair
Bertoia's wire side chair on a sled base, 28.75 in high, bare or with pad or cover
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