With his iconic seating collection, Harry Bertoia transformed industrial wire rods into a new furniture form. The events that made this work possible began a decade earlier at Cranbrook Academy of Art when Bertoia met Florence Knoll (then Florence Schust). Years later, the Italian-born designer was invited to work for Florence and her husband Hans Knoll. Bertoia was given the freedom to work on whatever suited him, without being held to a strict design agenda, and the result of this arrangement was the Bertoia Seating Collection (1952). Featuring a delicate filigreed appearance that’s supremely strong, these airy seats are sculpted out of steel rods. In his art, Bertoia experimented with open forms and metal work, and these chairs were an extension of that work. “If you look at the chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture,” said Bertoia. “Space passes through them.” After designing his seating collection, Bertoia returned to focusing mostly on sculpture. These are authentic Bertoia Diamond Chairs produced by Knoll.
The original orange seat pads are in decent shape with a few cracks, pinholes at the edges (I suspect a cat!) and one small hole. The fabric on the back of one chair also has some pulls, probably from that same cat! The frames are very good: strong and sturdy with no broken welds or repairs. There is some light rust, as is expected in chairs this age, but they present very well. 33" wide x 28.25" deep x 29.75" high.