Money Trees

The drawing and three related sculptures by Harry Bertoia entitled Money Trees are maquettes for a large-scale commission created for the First National Bank of Miami, which opened in 1958. Florence Knoll, along with her Knoll Planning Unit, designed the bank, and worked closely with Harry Bertoia on the design of both the studies and the larger sculptures. These are depicted in the attached photograph (courtesy Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution). The bank Vice President at the time, Harry Hood Bassett, later became Florence Knoll's second husband. The current owner acquired the Bertoia drawing and three sculptures from the First National Bank of Miami in 1981.