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Monumental Sculpture by Midcentury Master Harry Bertoia Installed At

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Monumental Sculpture by Midcentury Master Harry Bertoia Installed At CONTACTS: Susan Turner­Lowe, tel: 626 405­2147; email: [email protected] Lisa Blackburn, tel: 626 405­2140; email: [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 20, 2007 Monumental Sculpture by Mid­Century Master Harry Bertoia Installed at The Huntington The promised gift from The Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation emanates harmonic tones that blend with the garden’s natural sounds San Marino, Calif. — A graceful, 19­foot tall bronze Sounding Sculpture made in the 1970s by American designer and sculptor Harry Bertoia (1915­1978), has been installed on the grounds of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. The work is a promised gift from The Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation and was made possible by the Bermans’ daughter, Nancy M. Berman, a longtime Los Angeles resident and art collector. “With this remarkable gift that will engage and delight visitors for years to come, the Berman Foundation beautifully furthers our tradition of connecting art with nature,” said Steven S. Koblik, president of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. “We are deeply grateful for Nancy Berman’s vision and generosity.” The Sounding Sculpture consists of a delicate, airy tower formed by a tall cluster of 16 thin beryllium­copper rods crowned with bronze “cat­tail” tops. When blown by the wind, the sculpture emanates mysterious, harmonic tones that combine softly with the natural sounds of birdsong and rustling leaves on The Huntington’s grounds. “While he has earned widespread respect and popularity for iconic mid­century furniture design, Bertoia’s passionate experimentation with spatial and tonal environments really mark him as a master,” noted Jessica Todd Smith, the Virginia Steele Scott Curator of American Art at The Huntington. “One of his largest and most dramatic works, this Sounding Sculpture is an exquisite example of the artist’s innovative approach to creating a sort of abstraction of sound. We are exceedingly fortunate to add such a modern masterpiece to our collection.” Italian­born Bertoia moved to the United States as a teenager and studied art and design, eventually earning a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He worked for a time in California with designers Charles and Ray Eames and in 1950 moved to Pennsylvania, where he began designing for Hans and Florence Knoll. He created five wire pieces known as the Bertoia Collection, among them, the famous Diamond chair, a fluid, sculptural form made from a lattice of welded steel. The Bermans, who also lived in Pennsylvania, amassed a large collection of monumental sculptures by major figures including Alexander Calder, Jean Miro, Henry Moore, and Bertoia, who became a close friend. “I was brought up with Harry Bertoia sculptures all around me,” recalls Nancy Berman. “There were small delicate ones on desktops, metallic wheat sheaves rustling to the touch on the dining room credenza, and then the larger­than­life works right outside on the lawn.” She also recalls that her parents believed strongly that art in public places benefited the human experience, and when she had the opportunity to donate work from her parents’ collection, she immediately thought about The Huntington. “It has always been one of my family’s favorite places,” she reflected. Other tonal sculptures by Bertoia have been installed at the Aon Center in Chicago, the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. The Huntington’s Sounding Sculpture stands in the Dorothy Collins Brown Garden, near the Scott and Erburu art galleries. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is a collections­based research and educational institution serving scholars and the general public. For visitor information, call 626 405­2100 or visit online at www.huntington.org. ### EDITOR’S NOTE: High­resolution digital images of the sculpture for publicity use are available on request..
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