HARRY BERTOIA (1915-1978)

Arieto Bertoia was born on March 10, 1915, in the small village of San Lorenzo, Friuli, Italy, about 50 miles north of Venice and 70 miles south of Austria. He had one brother, Oreste, and one sister, Ave. Another sister died at eighteen months old; she was the subject of one of his first paintings. Even as a youngster, the local brides would ask him to design their wedding day linen embroidery patterns, as his talents were already recognized. He attending high school in Arzene, Carsara, until age 15. He then accompanied his father to Detroit to visit brother Oreste. Upon entering North America, his birth name of Arieto (little Ari) was altered to the Americanized Harry. Bertoia stayed in Michigan to attend Cass Technical High School, a public school with a special program for talented students in arts and sciences. Later, a one-year scholarship to the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts allowed him to study painting and drawing. He entered and placed in many local art competitions.In 1950, at the invitation of Hans and Florence Knoll of Knoll, Inc. furniture design company, Harry moved to eastern Pennsylvania with his growing family. The Knolls had seen his work at Cranbrook and suspected he had more ideas inside. They offered him free rein to design what he wished - furniture or sculpture - with full credit and complete recognition of his work, which was their policy with all designers. The Bertoia Diamond chair series was introduced in 1952 by Knoll. Bertoia also designed all the jigs for the production of the items. Harry set up shop in Bally in an old leaky garage building. The chair became part of the “modern” furniture movement of the 1950s. In the span of a couple of years, Bertoia completed several chair designs for Knoll. They compensated him handsomely for his wildly popular work, enabling Bertoia to purchase the farmhouse he had been renting, as well as his shop in Bally. Daughter Celia was born in Pennsylvania. The 1800’s rural stone house and the shop are still in the family.In 1960, Harry Bertoia started the exploration of tonal sculptures. The "tonal", or sounding sculpture, is the art that is most often associated with Harry Bertoia. Their sizes vary from a few inches all the way up to 20 feet. Many metals were used for the rods, the most common being beryllium copper known for its wide range of color variations. Some rods are capped with cylinders or drops of metal, which, by their weight, accentuate the swaying of the tonal rods. Harry and Oreste (his brother) both loved music and spent endless happy hours experimenting and finding new sounds to incorporate into Sonambient, the auditory and visual environment created by the tonals.In 1971, Muhlenberg College of Allentown, PA, paid tribute to Harry with an Honorary Doctorate degree in Fine Arts. The Allentown Art Museum, close to his home, has shown their respect of Bertoia’s work with several exhibits both during his lifetime and since. Bertoia has been honored by local admirers near his residence in Pennsylvania as well as collectors all over the world. Bertoia was selected to do the memorial piece for the Marshall University football team in Huntington, WV, in 1972. The 2006 movie, We Are Marshall, outlines the tragic plane crash. The 6500 pound 13’ high sculpture commemorates the 75 lives taken.earning of the dismal diagnosis of cancer caused Bertoia to work furiously on organizing his monoprints, perfecting the tonal barn collection, and putting his life’s work in order. He had produced more than 50,000 pieces of art during his short life. His work had consumed most of his time, much of his passion, and ultimately all of his energy. The toxic fumes such as from the beryllium copper he so loved contributed to the lung cancer. Yet, his death was peaceful, he felt complete, and he accepted dying as simply one more graceful part of life. Harry Bertoia died at age 63 on November 6th, 1978. After his death, his wife Brigitta, his son Val, and his daughter Lesta continued the musical barn concert tradition begun by Harry. His wife Brigitta died in 2007 shortly after her 87th birthday. His children Val and Lesta are artists in their own right, while daughter Celia has taken over the handling of his monoprints. Lesta paints intuitive portraits and dreamy spiritual landscapes. The studio in Bally, PA, is still used today by Val Bertoia, his son, who is a sculptor and inventor. Bertoia is buried behind the Sonambient Barn under a huge 1-ton Bertoia gong.io