Design

Bertoia: The Metal Worker

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A gorgeous book that celebrates the work of an icon.

Born in 1915 in San Lorenzo, Italy, Harry Bertoia moved to Detroit at the age of 15. After studying art and design at the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Craft, which later became the College for Creative Studies, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ray and Charles Eames, Florence Knoll, and Edmund N. Bacon through his scholarship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Bertoia opened his metal workshop in 1939, starting a prolific path that placed him at the heart of American modernism. Published by Phaidon Press, the book Bertoia: The Metal Worker by art historian Beverly H. Twitchell chronicles the vastly varied work as well as the life of the art and design icon. It’s the ultimate Harry Bertoia book, in our book.

Apart from her expertise, the author also has a special link to the renowned artist. After meeting him in 1973, they remained close friends until his death in 1978. As the only art historian to have met and worked with Harry Bertoia, Beverly H. Twitchell offers incredible insight into Bertoia’s world. This Harry Bertoia book explores the artist’s life and career, from his move to the US to his work with Knoll and Eames. Prolific and multi-talented, the Italian-born American artist and designer created a hugely varied body of work.

Throughout the book’s 230 illustrations, readers can admire and learn more about his legendary sound sculptures, bronze fountains, and chapel altarpieces as well as his iconic Bertoia Diamond Chair, created for Knoll in 1952. Available now at a price of $95, Bertoia: The Metal Worker is an essential book for any Harry Bertoia fans and design lovers. Photographs© Phaidon.

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