Harry Bertoia

Acquired directly from the artist
Thence by descent
Christie's New York, March 16, 2006, lot 215

Time Magazine, January 27, 1958, p. 40 (for a period advertisement showing the completed screen)
June Kompass Nelson, Harry Bertoia:  Sculptor, Detroit, 1970, cat. no. 76

Overall very good condition. Two of the floating squares have become detached from the work, and have been retained and will be sold with the piece. The sculpture also appears to be lacking a few other minor elements. It appears that the color block elements have been repainted at some point in the sculpture’s history. The white frame with scoff, scratches and minor losses and appears to also have been repainted. Please note the measurements of this piece as it is 48 inches in length. A superb example of Bertoia’s craftsmanship for a rare study for an architectural commission within his body of work.
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 being sold with a certificate of authenticity from the Bertoia studio.

The present lot is a maquette for Harry Bertoia's screen executed for the interior of Lambert St. Louis airport designed by Minoru Yamasaki.  This legendary work was later dismantled and is believed to have been destroyed. Along with Bertoia's screens for Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company building, New York, NY and the General Motors Technical Center screen, Warren, MI, it is one of Bertoia's most important works of the 1950s.

The Lambert St. Louis screen, constructed of floating color blocks, marks one of the earliest uses of color as a dominant stylistic element in the artist's sculptural works.  Bertoia rendered in three dimensions the monoprints that had captured a new direction in his work a few years earlier.  In an interview in ArtNews magazine in 1952, Bertoia explained the premise behind his monoprints:

"I used to make paintings on the most transparent paper that I could find-paint just a shape here, leave a lot of space around it, an then another shape and another color there.....the colors would float in the air, some closer, some farther back"

The present lot is one of three known maquettes for the Lambert St. Louis Airport commission, one of which is in the permanent collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum.  This is the only prototype that divides into three panels, while the finished screen employed four.