Collectors Are Mad About Harry Bertoia

Several mid-century modern designers achieved impressive auction results this week, none more so than Harry Bertoia, whose sales eclipsed contemporaries Georges Jouve, Pierre Jeanneret, and Jean Prouve.

At Phillips New York design sale on June 12, five works by Bertoia totaled $446,340, led by his copper and bronze work Untitled (Sonambient), which was purchased directly from the artist by collectors Benjamin and Deborah Mangel shortly after it was made in 1975.

The Sonambient sculpture sold for $251,550 at Phillips on June 12, more than one and a half times its low estimate.

He once explained the birth of his sound works that are activated by movement, recalling, “I accidentally struck one rod when I wanted to bend it. The sound echoed in my mind for a very long time.”

Bertoia often drew inspiration from nature, with forms suggesting organic elements such as blossoms, grasses, seedheads, and willows. Another signature work, Untitled (Bush) from 1975, also found a buyer in the sale, fetching $67,100, more than twice its low estimate.

However, at Christie's on June 10, another Bertoia bush, this time from 1965, which had a $50,000 low estimate, failed to find a buyer.

A versatile artist and designer, Bertoia famously created chairs, jewelry, as well as sculptures, including major public commissions. In 2022, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas held a survey show highlighting his leading role in shaping the mid-century American experience.

The French ceramicist Georges Jouve's market was also buoyant this week, when four lots totaled $288,315. It was led by a large mirror, which sold for $245,100 at Phillips, exceeding its low estimate by 375%.

A 1946 mirror sold for $320,000 at Sotheby's in April, over eight times its low estimate, setting Jouve's new auction record.

Jean Prouvé has long been a must-have for any self-respecting collector of mid-century design. The French designer and architect's Flavigny table sold for $193,500 at Phillips. Earlier this month, his sideboard, model no. BA-12 (1948), which was owned by the late gallerist Barbara Gladstone, fetched $294,400 at Sotheby's New York, more than double its low estimate.

Another modern-design giant, Pierre Jeanneret, saw a record sale of $355,600—the sale price plus fees—for his Illuminated Library Table (Model PJ-TAT-10-B) at Christie's in New York in June. It was designed for large reading halls and institutional libraries in Chandigarh, the urban masterwork in India planned by his cousin, the architect Le Corbusier.