Bertoia, Knoll and a golden Dandelion: A modern design story comes to Heritage Auctions
Harry Bertoia, Untitled (Dandelion), 1971. Gilt brass, copper, granite, 88 x 42-1/2 in. Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000.
DALLAS, TX.—
A glistening gold Dandelion by Harry Bertoia, preserved for more than half a century in the family of the Knoll executive who championed his sculpture, leads Heritage Auctions’ Nov. 12 Modern Design Signature® Auction. The sale brings together some of the most important Modern Design property Heritage has ever offered and carries the highest total pre-auction estimate in the category’s history at the auction house.
Together with the Nov. 11 Early 20th Century Design Signature® Auction, likewise Heritage’s strongest offering to date in its category, the sale marks a significant advance for two growing categories withing the Design department.
“These are the most important Early 20th Century Design and Modern Design auctions we have assembled at Heritage,” says Samantha Robinson, Heritage’s Vice President of Design. “The growth of both departments is reflected in the caliber of the works entrusted to us. In Modern Design, the Bertoia and Nakashima selections alone offer extraordinary depth, and that quality extends through contemporary glass, Japanese ceramics and artist jewelry.”
Bertoia’s 1971 Untitled (Dandelion) stands 88 inches tall and comes from the Collection of John L. Helm, Dallas, who acquired it directly from the artist in 1973. Exhibited at Knoll International’s Houston showroom from 1971 to 1973, the gilt brass, copper and granite sculpture has descended through Helm’s family and is included in the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné.
Its history illuminates the friendship behind a defining relationship in modern design. Helm, tapped by Hans Knoll to lead the company’s Dallas showroom in 1950, became a steadfast advocate for Bertoia, helping place his sculptures in Knoll showrooms and private collections. As sculpture scholar Marin R. Sullivan recounts in her accompanying catalogue essay, the two maintained decades of correspondence encompassing commissions, exhibitions, sales and family news.
The Dandelion emerged from that exchange. In April 1971, Bertoia wrote to his friend “Johnny” about three newly completed Dandelions, calling them his “nicest yet.” Two went to Helm at the Dallas showroom. When Helm sold the smaller sculpture in 1973 for enough to cover Bertoia’s asking price for both, the artist encouraged him to keep the remaining work. “I hope you decide to keep the other one or dispose of it at your own discretion,” Bertoia wrote.
“This Dandelion brings together the beauty of Bertoia’s sculpture and an unusually personal history,” Robinson says. “John Helm helped bring Bertoia’s work into the world, and the correspondence gives us a wonderful account of the generosity and friendship behind this particular sculpture. It is an exceptional centerpiece for our selection of five Bertoia works.”
More than a dozen Nakashima lots provide another major strength. Among them is George Nakashima’s Untitled (Plank Sculpture), 1981, an English walnut work signed and dated Oct. 1981. The sculpture measures nearly 43 inches across and is accompanied by a digital copy of the original order card from Nakashima Studios.
A substantial contemporary glass selection features Lino Tagliapietra, Harvey Littleton, Dale Chihuly, Stephen Powell and others. A highlight is Tagliapietra’s signed Dinosaur, 2017, a 43-inch-tall blown-glass sculpture that brings commanding scale to the group.
Japanese ceramics further broaden the offering, while jewelry by Alexander Calder, John Chamberlain and Robert Graham brings the sculptor’s imagination to an intimate scale. Calder’s VW Brooch, circa 1947, fashioned from silver and steel wire, was a gift from the artist to Virginia Chess of Connecticut around the time of its creation. The brooch is registered in the Calder Foundation archives.
Graham’s bracelet, circa 2004, combines 24K gold panels with an 18K gold clasp. Marked with the artist’s initials and the gold purity on the reverse of each panel, it is offered as part of Robert Graham Jewelry from the Collection of a Patron.
The Modern Design Signature® Auction takes place Nov. 12, following the Early 20th Century Design Signature® Auction on Nov. 11.
