Harry Bertoia: Masterworks from The Standard Oil Commission
at Auction 6 June 2013
Wright is delighted to present Harry Bertoia: Masterworks from the Standard Oil Commission on June 6, 2013 at 12 pm central. These works have never before been presented at auction.
In 1974, Harry Bertoia was commissioned by the Standard Oil Company to create sculptures for the plaza of their building, a modern skyscraper designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone.
Bertoia designed eleven Sonambients for the 4,000 square foot reflecting pool at the building’s base, each sculpture ranging from four to sixteen feet in height. The verticality of the Somabients’ brass and copper rods echoed the height and rhythm of the Standard Oil Building itself, and their sound resonated throughout the plaza. The kinetic sculptures he designed for the Standard Oil Company were installed on June 24, 1975 and the plaza of the Standard Oil Building became among the most beloved public spaces in the city of Chicago. A crowning achievement of his career, Bertoia’s Sonambient installation became the fourth major public artwork in Chicago’s loop, joining the Civic Center’s untitled monumental sculpture by Picasso, Chagall’s Four Seasons mural at the First National Bank Plaza and Calder’s Flamingo at the Federal Building.
HARRY BERTOIA untitled (Monumental Sonambient) from the Standard Oil Commission estimate: $300,000–500,000
HARRY BERTOIA untitled (Monumental Sonambient) from the Standard Oil Commission estimate: $400,000–600,000
HARRY BERTOIA maquette from the Standard Oil Commission estimate: $7,000–9,000
HARRY BERTOIA maquette from the Standard Oil Commission estimate: $7,000–9,000
HARRY BERTOIA untitled (Sonambient) estimate: $7,000–9,000
HARRY BERTOIA untitled (Sonambient) estimate: $20,000–30,000
HARRY BERTOIA untitled (Sonambient) estimate: $20,000–30,000
