Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Joseph and Esther Kerrigan, New York, 1926
Thence by descent
Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, New York, 2018
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich became enamored with the animal world at a young age in his native Hungary, where his father was an avid hunter and bred horses for the Prussian army. Upon moving to the United States at the turn of the century, Diederich was further exposed to the horse culture of the Wild West where he worked as a cowboy before enrolling to study sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His designs over the course of his career reflect an endless fascination with flora and fauna. In his own words, “Animals seem to me truly plastic. They possess such supple, unspoiled rhythm.” Whether executed on paper or as three-dimensional decorative works in wrought iron, Diederich’s pieces distill each creature to a stylized silhouette buzzing with movement and energy.

The present lot by Hunt Diederich is one of a group of dramatic cut metal decorations the artist made for his cousin Esther Kerrigan to decorate her townhouse on East 77th Street of Manhattan in the late 1920s. In this scene, Diederich mimicked a marshy habitat thriving with birds and plant life. Comprising 21 elements, the installation can be arranged at the buyer’s discretion to create a dynamic environment where sparrows and wrens fly high or sit perched on a sinuous branch of grape vines, while ducks and herons wade below amongst the cattail plants and cacti. These angular silhouettes call to mind the embellishments and flairs of the Art Deco style popular in the period, while the variety of species evokes an exotic land far distant from the Upper East Side. Never publicly exhibited prior to 2019, the tableau is a demonstration of Diederich's virtuosity with metalwork and his ability to transform any space.