HARRY BERTOIA | Untitled (Monumental Wire Construction)

Margot Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1991

Nancy N. Schiffer and Val O. Bertoia, The World of Bertoia, Atglen, PA, 2003, pp. 144-150 (for related brass melt-coated wire constructions)

Overall excellent condition, consistent with age. When viewed in person, the wires are brilliantly textured variations of yellow and gold shimmering tones. Each individual wire terminates in a richly patinated welded cap, displaying a range of tones from powdery green to deep maroon and charcoal gray. The surfaces with minor, scattered oxidation inherent to the production of the piece and as intended by the artist. A few wires with very slight and minor bends, which do not affect the overall composition of the work. When viewing the work in person, it displays exceptional dimensionality and sculptural presence, which is not fully captured in the catalogue illustration. Please contact a member of the department for additional photographs. Abstract in composition, the work is of impressive scale and complexity, exhibiting an energetic arrangement of lines and planes. A true masterwork within the oeuvre of Bertoia.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This lot is offered together with a certificate of authenticity from the Harry Bertoia Foundation, Bozeman, Montana.


Harry Bertoia’s abstract sculptures manifest his deeply spiritual contemplations of nature and the cosmos.  His wire sculptures of the 1960s, such as the present lot, are among his most complex investigations of the universe.  Hundreds of intersecting wires are welded together, many terminating in coiled bronze elements, culminating in a dense mass of ordered chaos.  Its energy vibrates like molecules moving through space, but its monumental scale evokes a shower of comets traversing a galaxy.  While the sculpture’s delicate composition invites close inspection, its imposing stature demands distance to behold the vastness of its form in its entirety.  In this work, it is as though Bertoia expresses both his longing for understanding of the universe as well as his reverence for its unfathomable mysteries.  Bertoia explored these themes in related wire construction sculptures, such as Comet (1964) in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Art, and Sunlit Straw (1964), an installation at the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The beauty and complexity of the present lot distinguish it as a masterwork within Beroia’s prolific body of work.