Harry Bertoia

Italian by birth and a sculptor, Harry Bertoia was a member of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Some of the most famous designers of the twentieth century joined this important institute, including Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Ray Kaiser and Florence Schust Knoll. Bertoia was a teacher at the Cranbrook when Charles Eames was Head of the Department of Experimental Design. Inevitable was the exchange of mutual knowledge and influence, leading Bertoia to present his seats about a year after Eames’ chair with a metal wire structure. Although Bertoia made use of similar materials and techniques, his chairs attain to a plastic result completely different from that characterizing Eames’ chair