Harry Bertoia papers, 1917-1979
Bertoia, Harry,
b. 1915
d. 1978
Sculptor, Designer, Furniture designer, Metalworker
Calif.
Collection size: 8.5 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 11 reels)
Collection Summary: Correspondence; printed material; exhibition materials; sketches; a scrapbook; phonograph album; and writings.
REEL 1471: Sketches; jewelry designs; monoprints; three photographs of Bertoia with his work; a photograph of his assistant, Jim Flanagan, working on a sculpture; and photographs of works. Also includes a scrapbook containing family and personal photographs and photographs of works; clippings; a statement to friends by Bertoia; a funeral address by his wife, Brigitta; and Bertoia's death certificate. Explanatory notes by Brigitta are included.
REELS 3843-3851: Personal correspondence, 1947-1979 and undated; business records, 1943-1979; and clippings. Among the correspondents are: Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Albert Christ-Janer, Charles Eames, Walter Gropius, Victor Gruen, Henry Moore, Louis Redstone, Zoltan Sepechy, and Minoru Yamasaki.
REEL 2787: An illustrated booklet entitled "My Career" by Bertoia written when he was 17 and a student in Gladys Little's occupational information class at Cleveland Junior High School in Detroit.
UNMICROFILMED: 12 phonograph albums of Bertoia's sound sculpture "Sonambient"; photocopies of correspondence; awards and certificates; catalogs and announcements; HARRY BERTOIA, SCULPTOR by June Compass Nelson (Wayne State Univ., 1970); and printed materials.
Biographical/Historical Note: Sculptor, designer, metalsmith; Michigan and California. Attended Cranbrook Academy of Art and was a designer for Knoll Associates.
Material on reel 1471 lent for microfilming and unmicrofilmed material donated 1979 by Brigitta Bertoia, Bertoia's widow; material on reel 2787 donated 1975-1977 by Gladys M. Little, Bertoia's teacher in junior high school; and material on reels 3843-3851 lent for microfilming 1986 by Bertoia Studios Ltd.
How to Use this Collection
- Microfilm reels 1471, 2787 & 3843-3851 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
- Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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