Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Auction: May 8, 2019 1:00:00 PM EDT
Bronze shot fused via welding on copper stem and base.
Executed circa 1965.
height: 11 in. (29.9cm)
width: 8 in. (20.3cm)
depth: 6 in. (15.2cm)
Provenance: Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (gifted in 1968).
note:
This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Harry Bertoia Foundation and signed by Celia Bertoia, Director.
"These beads or bronze shot were sometimes in the bottom of wooden shipping crates of rod supplies for tonals, and were considered waste materials by the metal suppliers. Harry liked them, and began to experiment with them. Harry was, perhaps, one of the first ecologically minded sculptor, as he enjoyed making use of every scrap of metal that came his way. He would pile the shot together on his asbestos plate to heat and weld them. At times, to create a particular effect, he would place one bead at a time and weld it on the desired spot; very painstaking work. He started to order them specifically from the suppliers (who probably thought he was crazy). You can see how this one, and most of the fused shot sculptures, had more of a squarish shape than rounded. That was because he had to create the plates on a surface first, and then weld the shot plates together. This experimentation took place after normal shop hours when he was alone. He played around with this technique for several years until he felt he had explored most options, and then let it go."
-Celia Bertoia, Director of the Harry Bertoia Foundation