| Facts/Data
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Birth
1915 (San Lorenzo, Italy)
Death
1978 (Barto, Pennsylvania)
Lived/Active
California/Pennsylvania
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Often Known For
sculptor-kinetic, abstract monoprint, Painter, craftsman
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  A sculptor of kinetic objects, many of them with mazes of thin rods that appear brush like, Harry Bertoia was born in San Lorenzo, Italy, and came to America in 1930. In 1936, he studied at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts and then attended Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, Michigan, where he later taught and established the metalworking department. During this time, he began experimenting with jewelry forms and explored ideas that would later emerge into his sculpture.
In 1943, he moved to Venice, California and worked with designer Charles Eames in war efforts until 1946. That first year, he attended a welding class at Santa Monica City College. In 1947, he moved to La Jolla to work in the Point Loma Navel Electronics Laboratory in the publications department creating training manuals for equipment operators. During this time, he continued making jewelry and monoprints and began his first experiments with metal sculpture.
In 1949, he moved to Barto, Pennsylvania where he joined Hans Knoll in Knoll Associates. He became a prolific architectural sculptor. His first commission was a screen for the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. His first sculpture exhibition was in 1951 at the Knoll Showroom in New York.
It was his custom not to sign his works because he believed that the piece itself was a signature, that what he created belonged to the universe, and that a signature called attention to the artist rather than the work of art.
Source:
Jeffrey Head, Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg catalogue of 11/19/2002
Matthew Baigell, "Dictionary of American Art" |
These Notes from AskART represent the beginning of a possible future biography for this artist. Please click here if you wish to help in its development:
|  Bertoia studied at Cranbrook Academy and Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts. During the 1940s he lived in Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles. By the 1950s he had settled in Barto, Pennsylvania where he remained until his death in November 1978. | Source:
Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Who’s Who in American Art, 1947-66; Social Security Death Index. | | Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here. |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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