Harry Bertoia

Tea Service
1938–39
Silver and acrylic
Teapot: 5 5/8 x 4 1/8 x 7 1/4 in. (14.3 x 10.5 x 18.4 cm)
Creamer: 2 1/2 x 2 7/8 x 4 3/4 in. (6.4 x 7.3 x 12.1 cm)
Sugar Bowl with Cover: 3 /14 x 4 1/4 x 2 7/8 in. (0.5 x 10.8 x 7.3 cm)
Tray: 3/4 x 12 3/4 x 8 7/8 in. (1.9 x 32.4 x 22.5 cm)

Harry Bertoia created these sets while attending and teaching metalworking at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.

With these teapots, Bertoia experimented with an insulating air-vacuum space in the walls of the metal, showcasing his early interest in functional objects acting as "objects in space".

The most prominent complete set (consisting of a teapot, creamer, sugar bowl, and tray) was purchased by collectors George and Helen Kamperman and was later bequeathed to Detroit Institute of Arts .

Did you know you can find this piece of Harry Bertoia's artwork and thousands more in the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné? The Catalogue Raisonné is a digital resource created by the Harry Bertoia Foundation and dedicated to documenting the work of Harry Bertoia (1915-1978). This online Open Access publication is intended to increase access to Bertoia's vast and diverse artistic practice, offering in-depth information on his work in design, sculpture, Sonambient, and two-dimensional media. The catalogue is designed as a “living” document and is updated regularly with new research. Visit our website harrybertoia.org for a link to browse the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné!

Harry Bertoia grew up in rural Italy, San Lorenzo, until age 15. This is the property with the barn. There were three families living under one roof; chickens and a cow in the barn. A simple life. Similar to his later life in Pennsylvania.

This week's Catalogue Raisonné spotlight is a monotype currently in the collection of the Cranbrook Art Museum ...

Untitled
Alternate title: Rooftops
1939
Graphite, chalk, and ink on paper
Image and sheet: 5 3/4 x 7 1/8 in. (14.6 x 18.1 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: Harry Bertoia 1939
Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (CAM 1973.6)
Provenance
(...)
Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 1973

You can read more about the Bertoia works in the Cranbrook Art Museum's collection on their website at https://cranbrookartmuseum.org/

Did you know you can find this piece of Harry Bertoia's artwork and thousands more in the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné? The Catalogue Raisonné is a digital resource created by the Harry Bertoia Foundation and dedicated to documenting the work of Harry Bertoia (1915-1978). This online Open Access publication is intended to increase access to Bertoia's vast and diverse artistic practice, offering in-depth information on his work in design, sculpture, Sonambient, and two-dimensional media. The catalogue is designed as a “living” document and is updated regularly with new research. Visit our website harrybertoia.org for a link to browse the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné!

Looking for an early start to your weekend?
Every Friday in the month of June...
3:00 - 4:00 PM at the Harry Bertoia Foundation Gallery
FREE Sounding sculpture concert!
Bring the kids!
Stop by to hear healing sounds and talk to Celia at 3:30.
Then go to dinner at 5:00
Then go to the Sears Art Gallery opening at 7:00!
Perfect Date!

We came across an interesting article with a nod to the Bertoia artwork installed in the chapel at MIT on The Spaces, a digital platform exploring new ways to live and work. The Spaces peers inside the best buildings across the globe, from co-working clubs and hybrid hotels to new retail hotspots, restaurants, and residences that are changing the way we interact with the world. Link to the article in the comments.

The "WalMart" museum in Arkansas, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art currently has a magnificent Bertoia dandelion, and a gorgeous wire form, plus several Knoll chairs, on display. Go for the bike rides but stay for the art!

1977, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter Museum in Norway, held an expansive Bertoia show, bonding the Norwegian people to Bertoia forever. Willows were perched 20 feet above the ground; never installed similarly before or after.

This week's Catalogue Raisonné spotlight is a "Prototype Tree" sculpture currently in the collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art

Untitled
Alternate title: Prototype Tree
c.1967
Bronze
31 x 15 x 15 in. (78.7 x 38.1 x 38.1 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Cadwallader, San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas (2005.16)
Provenance
(...)
Robert and Laura Cadwallader, San Antonio
San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, 2005 (gifted)

You can read more about this piece on the San Antonio Museum of Art's website at https://sanantonio.emuseum.com/objects/7829/prototype-tree

Did you know you can find this piece of Harry Bertoia's artwork and thousands more in the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné? The Catalogue Raisonné is a digital resource created by the Harry Bertoia Foundation and dedicated to documenting the work of Harry Bertoia (1915-1978). This online Open Access publication is intended to increase access to Bertoia's vast and diverse artistic practice, offering in-depth information on his work in design, sculpture, Sonambient, and two-dimensional media. The catalogue is designed as a “living” document and is updated regularly with new research. Visit our website harrybertoia.org for a link to browse the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné!