Harry Bertoia Spray Sculpture, ca. 1965
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GUEST:
It's a metal sculpture I've had for at least 25 years that I bought from my brother when he had an art gallery in Birmingham, Michigan. I know it's a Harry Bertoia sculpture. Since I bought it, I know the artist has died. I have no idea what the current value is. That's the main reason I came today.
APPRAISER:
What compelled you to purchase it?
GUEST:
Well, I used to visit my brother on weekends. He had this exhibited in the front window, and after three trips and it was still there, I just seemed to like it. He said he would give me a ten percent discount, so I bought it.
APPRAISER:
The friends and family discount?
GUEST:
(chuckling) Yes.
APPRAISER:
So how much did you pay for it at the time? I paid $14,000 for it. That's quite a bit of money.
GUEST:
It was.
APPRAISER:
So do you have it out at home? Do you have it on display?
GUEST:
I have it on a pedestal at home. It's had a little transition over the years because my children started having grandchildren, and they would come and visit, and then, unbeknownst to me, they would grab the wires, and it got about five or eight wires that got bent. And then I thought that ruined it, and I was going to try to resell it, but they said they couldn't do that, so I sent it back, with the gallery's help, sent it back to the Bertoia Foundation about ten years ago and had it refurbished. Now the kids are older and I have it out, and it's behaving itself.
APPRAISER:
When you sent it to the Harry Bertoia Foundation, what was the charge? Do you remember the charge for refurbishing?
GUEST:
Yeah, well, my brother's partner called me up and said it came back and that I should write him a check for $2,000, but I never saw the bill, so I think that's what it cost, but I'm not certain.
APPRAISER:
It is made out of stainless steel. It's called "The Spray." When you touch, it just has this wonderful sense of movement. Harry Bertoia was just a really interesting Renaissance man. He was involved in all different aspects of art and fine art. Italian-born, studied in this country, studied in Michigan, probably pretty close to where it was purchased from. He was there in the 19... late '30s and '40s, at the Cranbrook school. His career took off. He made furniture designs for Knoll in Pennsylvania, and I think that funded him to be able to spend time on what he wanted to do, which was sculpture. But this, you know, it has the movement and I can see how it'd be very, very appealing for small hands to want to play. I think you did the right thing by sending it to the foundation. Harry Bertoia's an important figure, and there's certainly a lot of attention made towards making sure that works that are offered have a good provenance and they were a product of his work, that they're not later reproductions. And often, one of the steps that is done is to have the foundation weigh in as to authenticity. And is that something that they did when you sent it for repair, or...?
GUEST:
Yeah, my brother has since died, but his partner got it back and said-- but I didn't know how much truth he was always telling me-- and he gave me a figure that the foundation said it could be worth like, $70,000, $80,000, $90,000, and I thought, "Well, I don't know if that's true or not." And so I just took it home and kept it.
APPRAISER:
It is an unusually large piece. Bertoia sculptures, for "The Spray," some of them are just merely inches tall. This is probably one of the largest of this form that was made.
GUEST:
Is that right?
APPRAISER:
So they don't come up very often. Certainly, the smaller ones are more prevalent at auction. I think with documentation from the Harry Bertoia Foundation stating that it is authentic, it was made in the mid-1960s, that you would look at an auction estimate in today's market probably between $50,000 and $75,000.
GUEST:
The other motivation was, I still have it insured at the original purchase price, so that's... that's interesting.
APPRAISER:
I think for insurance purposes, in today's market, you probably want to be looking closer to $100,000.
GUEST:
Is that right?
APPRAISER:
Yup.
GUEST:
I guess I'll have to call the agent. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
Do an update, yes.
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