This screen represents a stylistic continuation of Bertoia's work in the 1950s and early 1960s, and in particular his collaborations with the architect Gordon Bunshaft at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It bears a close resemblance to Bertoia’s famed mezzanine screen commissioned by Bunshaft in 1954 for one of his modernist masterworks, SOM's Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Building in New York. Bunshaft, who was born in Buffalo in 1909, had a long architectural relationship with his hometown, and in 1961 he designed an addition to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. From 1969-1971, SOM designed Buffalo's tallest skyscraper, the 40-story One Marine Midland Center, which served as headquarters for Marine Midland Bank. The present screen was mounted as a sculpture in the lobby outside the restaurant on the 38th floor. While the exact details of the commission are unknown, it would appear to be the final chapter in the Bunshaft-Bertoia collaboration in Buffalo.
Please note that in the print catalogue for this sale, this lot appears as number 181T.