Harry Bertoia - Design Evening Sale New York Tuesday, December 13, 2016 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Provenance

    Sigmund E. Edelstone, Chicago
    Christie’s, New York, "Contemporary Art," February 23, 1985, lot 36
    Private collection, US
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    Nancy N. Schiffer and Val O. Bertoia, The World of Bertoia, Atglen, 2003, p. 92 for similar examples

  • Catalogue Essay

    Phillips would like to thank Celia Bertoia of the Harry Bertoia Foundation for her assistance cataloguing the present lot.

    For a short period of time, between 1955 and 1962, Harry Bertoia experimented with a technique using welded cut nails to create sculptural plant-like forms. Partly inspired by a trip to his birthplace in Italy during this period in which he sought to manifest the energy and radiance of a sunburst, the present lot embodies an aesthetic preoccupation that enjoyed significant longevity in Bertoia’s work. This sunburst shape is considered the precursor for Bertoia’s "Bush" and "Dandelion" forms and the present lot is an example of this important transitional period in his technique and style.

Property of a Private European Collector

414

Sunburst sculpture

1957-1960
Gilt bronze.
13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm) high

Estimate
$25,000 - 35,000 

Sold for $68,750

Contact Specialist
Cordelia Lembo
Specialist, Head of Sale
+1 212 940 1265

Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 13 December 2016