BEVERLY, MASS.- A rare example of artist William Turnbull's early work will be offered for sale at Kaminski Auctions on April 7, 2013. The exciting kinetic sculpture will be a highlight of Kaminski's anticipated 20th Century Decorative Art and Design Auction. Very different from the artist's later and more famous abstract works, the Kaminski piece offers a rare insight into the Turnbull's early development.

William Turnbull, born in Scotland in 1922, enjoyed a sixty-year long career, and has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions. Today, his monumental works fetch tens of thousands at auction. Turnbull is most well known for his large geometric sculptural works and linear paintings that were central to the British Modernist movement and are still coveted by collectors today.

Presented as Lot 5233, the kinetic wire sculpture at Kaminski features an abstracted butterfly suspended mid air above a pair of many petaled flowers. The focus of the delicate sculpture, however, is not the figurative subject, but rather the beautifully balanced composition. Thin wires culminating in small leaf like shapes provide a subtle counterweight for the butterfly. The tapering stems, articulated with Turnbull's characteristic drip texture do the same for the flowers. The result is the same emphasis on movement and line more prominent in Turnbull’s later works. Each piece in the sculpture is kept at the same height and angle, while the entire wire structure quivers with small movements befitting the subject matter.

Kaminski appraisers have valued this incredible kinetic wire sculpture at $5,000 to $15,000.