The best part of being a vintage connoisseur (other than the obvious benefit of furnishing our home) is the rich history behind each designer and their designs. We are always learning new details about products that peak our interest and thought it would be fun to share some of the info we have learned. After all, the best way to learn and remember is to share it with others. So in the interest of sharing, we are beginning a series of posts that cover designer or design profiles featuring information and stories that fascinate us. Some you may already know a few of these, while others may not.

This week our featured designer is, Harry Bertoia, whom many are familiar with from his contribution to the postwar American modern furniture. Described as a master craftsman in all forms of metal, his early work for Charles and Ray Eames on molded plywood helped him to better understand his preference for metal as medium.

Harry Bertoia came to the US from Italy in 1930 at age 15 and boldly set about pursuing his creative inspirations. Initially that path began with jewelry, studying the craft and design elements. All this was before he attended Cranbrook Academy of Art (which we visited on our stay-cation), now easily regarded as the cradle for postwar American modern furniture inspiration. During this time at Cranbrook, Bertoia rubbed shoulders with the likes of Charles Eames, Euro Saarinen, and Florence Knoll.

After he graduated, Bertoia eventually made his way to California to work with the Eames’s  and Eero Saarinen on the bentwood plywood technique. It was during this time that Bertoia realized his true preference for metal over wood for furniture design. Some speculate that Bertoia didn’t receive due credit from Eames for his work, but who can ever know, right? Bertoia ended his collaboration with Charles Eames after a few years and moved to Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, Bertoia worked on a bent metal design he was commissioned to make by Hans Knoll. Then in 1952, Bertoia presented his bent metal series, five in all. Constructed of bent metal and finished in chrome, the set in Bertoia’s words were “mainly made of air [and] space passes right though them”. While these five were not Bertoia’s only furniture designs they were his most popular. Below is the 1952 Bertoia collection for Knoll.

After Bertoia released these “sculptures”, they all went into production except for the Asymmetric Chaise which was too detailed to produce en masse (however Knoll did put the chair in production several years back due to increased interest in mid century furniture).

Shortly after the Knoll production of the bent wire collection, Herman Miller furniture filed suit for patent infringement against Knoll and Bertoia, because just one year earlier in 1951, Charles and Ray Eames had released their own bent wire chair for Herman Miller. The courts found that while Bertoia may have helped the Eames develop the bent metal fabrication method, the technique was owned by the Eames’. An agreement was settled upon that granted Knoll and Bertoia a temporary license to the method. Shortly after the lawsuit Bertoia invented another way to construct the chair and secured a patent for the new method.

By the 60′s, the collection had rose to great popularity allowing Bertoia to pursue other creative indulgences such as metal sculpting and eventually sound sculpting. Bertoia’s contributions to mid century modernism is no doubt great and surely responsible for many peoples source of inspiration.

Below are some photos from a 1953 LIFE magazine featuring the designers of Knoll. Enjoy!

Above: Harry Bertoia with family at Pennsylvania Studio

Above: Knoll showroom circa 1953