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.
Summary:
Awards and certificates; photocopies of correspondence; catalogs and announcements and a book, Harry Bertoia, Sculptor by June Compass Nelson (Wayne State Univ., 1970), and a phonograph album of Bertoia's sound sculpture "Sonambient." Also included is 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, Mich. The booklet has been microfilmed on reel 2787.
Citation:
Harry Bertoia papers, 1917-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
35mm microfilm reels 1471, 2787 & 3843-3851 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Location of Originals:
Reel 1471: Originals returned to lender, Brigitta Bertoia, after microfilming.
Reels 3843-3851: Originals in the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives are extensive papers lent for microfilming. Microfilm reels 3843-3851 contain 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 1471 consists of 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, a scrapbook containing family and personal photographs and photographs of works; clippings; a statement to friends by Bertoia; a funeral address by his widow Brigitta; and Bertoia's death certificate. Notes by Brigitta are included.
Biography Note:
Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) was a sculptor, designer, and metalsmith from Michigan and California. Harry Bertoia was born in Italy. He attended Cranbrook Academy of Art and was a designer for Knoll Associates.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
Papers donated 1979 by Brigitta Bertoia, Bertoia's widow; she also lent material on reel 1471 for microfilming. The booklet and phonograph album were donated in 1975-1977 by Gladys M. Little, Bertoia's teacher in junior high school; and papers on reels 3843-3851 were lent for microfilming 1986 by Bertoia Studios Ltd. (and subsequently purchased by the Vitra Design Museum, Germany).
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
