Collections: Decorative Arts: "Diamond" Armchair

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This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

"Diamond" Armchair

First manufactured by Knoll in 1952, the welded-steel-rod Diamond armchair by Harry Bertoia added dynamism to modern seating. Its open frame, supporting a grid of smaller diamond shapes, glorified the use of a new industrial material. Bertoia wrote about the graceful design: “My feeling was that it had to come almost from an inward direction. . . . I began to rely once more on my own body. . . . The chairs are studies in space, form, and metal, too.” The continued success of the Diamond armchair is attributable to its seamless melding of aesthetics and practicality, seen in the best mid-century American design.


• Designer: Harry Bertoia, American, born Italy, 1915-1978
• Manufacturer: Knoll Associates, ca. 1953-present
• Medium: Steel, plastic, rubber, cotton
• Place Manufactured: New York, New York, USA
• Dates: Designed 1952; Manufactured ca. 1970
• Dimensions: Overall: 30 x 34 x 28 in. (76.2 x 86.4 x 71.1 cm.) Height of seat: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm.)
• Markings: Printed rectangular paper label afixed to seat interior, below cushion: Knoll International / 320 PARK Avenue / New york, NY 10022 (logo, capital "K" in a red circle).
• Signature: no signaure
• Inscriptions: no inscriptions
• Collections: Decorative Arts
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th Floor
• Accession Number: 78.128.8
• Credit Line: Gift of Knoll International, Inc.
• Image: Overall, 78.128.8_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Harry Bertoia (American, born Italy, 1915-1978). "Diamond" Armchair, Designed 1952; Manufactured ca. 1970. Steel, plastic, rubber, cotton, Overall: 30 x 34 x 28 in. (76.2 x 86.4 x 71.1 cm.) Height of seat: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm.). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Knoll International, Inc., 78.128.8 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 78.128.8_bw.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Continuous diamond-shaped wire frame with central depression forming seat. Four thin, straight, canted tubular steel legs and front stretcher below seat formed from one continuous bent rod that is welded to a continuous tubular, metal squared support. The support in turn supports the seat and is connected by four bolts. Upholstered with polyurethane foam covered by red cotton cloth with conforming central horizontal seam. CONDITION: Very good. Upholstery is extremely dusty.