Important Design
Important Design
Property from a Private Collection, Miami
Harry Bertoia
Untitled (Bush)
Auction Closed
December 8, 07:38 PM GMT
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection, Miami
Harry Bertoia
Untitled (Bush)
circa 1960
welded and patinated copper and bronze
7½ x 22¼ x 9½ in. (19 x 56.5 x 24.1 cm)
Galeria Don Hatch, Caracas, Venezuela
Private Collection, Caracas, Venezuela
Private Collection, Miami, Florida, 2011
Thence by descent to the present owner
Private Collection, Caracas, Venezuela
Private Collection, Miami, Florida, 2011
Thence by descent to the present owner
Beverly H. Twitchell, Bertoia: The Metalworker, New York, 2019, p. 213
This lot is offered together with a certificate of authenticity from the Harry Bertoia Foundation, St. George, Utah.
Harry Bertoia’s early childhood in the small rural village of San Lorenzo, Italy, bore his love for nature. A student of the arts as soon as he moved to America, Bertoia excelled at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and eventually learned to weld at the Santa Monica Community College in 1944. His passion for nature seeped into his practice. He drew inspiration from the sun and lush plant growth, evident in his Sunburst and Bush Form works.
The present lot is a rare example of a Bertoia bush form, as it has the potential for both wall and tabletop display. Small branches radiate from the central copper pipe in dense patches with globules of bronze finishing the outer ends. The bronze elements grow outward as if reaching toward the sun with a rhythmic pattern that hypnotizes the visual and tactile senses. Four eye bolt feet extend from the bush, providing unique circumstances to view the form mounted on a wall. Various exhibition options affect the airiness of the form. On a wall, the form floats above the surface. On a tabletop, the form is grounded and strong. Possibly a gift from the artist to the original owner, the present lot is a particularly special example of Bertoia’s characteristic bush forms in its exhibition possibilities and striking presence.
Harry Bertoia’s early childhood in the small rural village of San Lorenzo, Italy, bore his love for nature. A student of the arts as soon as he moved to America, Bertoia excelled at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and eventually learned to weld at the Santa Monica Community College in 1944. His passion for nature seeped into his practice. He drew inspiration from the sun and lush plant growth, evident in his Sunburst and Bush Form works.
The present lot is a rare example of a Bertoia bush form, as it has the potential for both wall and tabletop display. Small branches radiate from the central copper pipe in dense patches with globules of bronze finishing the outer ends. The bronze elements grow outward as if reaching toward the sun with a rhythmic pattern that hypnotizes the visual and tactile senses. Four eye bolt feet extend from the bush, providing unique circumstances to view the form mounted on a wall. Various exhibition options affect the airiness of the form. On a wall, the form floats above the surface. On a tabletop, the form is grounded and strong. Possibly a gift from the artist to the original owner, the present lot is a particularly special example of Bertoia’s characteristic bush forms in its exhibition possibilities and striking presence.