Harry Bertoia - Design New York Tuesday, June 7, 2022 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Acquired directly from the artist, 1973-1977

  • Literature

    Nancy N. Schiffer and Val O. Bertoia, The World of Bertoia, Atglen, 2003, pp. 3, 180 for similar examples
    Celia Bertoia, The Life and Work of Harry Bertoia: The Man, the Artist, the Visionary, Atglen, 2015, p. 137 for a similar example

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present lot is the second Sonambient that Harry Bertoia gifted to musician David Moss. With a particularly bright and intense sound, it features a single tone with a large range of harmonics.

    While Moss toured and performed with his collection of Sonambients, he also developed a percussion program for public schools. At school assemblies he would invite students to place their heads inside the wooden resonator box he built for this work so they could “really hear these new sounds.”

Property from the Collection of David Moss

69

"Sonambient" sounding sculpture

1970s
Beryllium copper, bronze.
17 x 10 x 10 in. (43.2 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Harry Bertoia Foundation and with a crate made by the owner.

Estimate
$15,000 - 20,000 

Sold for $21,420

Contact Specialist

Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist

Associate Head of Sale

bgreen@phillips.com
+1 917 207 9090

Design

New York Auction 7 June 2022