S.WI.25
Untitled
Alternate titles: Commission for 510 Fifth Avenue; Commission for Manufacturers Trust Building
1954
Stainless steel wire
216 x 144 x 36 in. (548.6 x 365.8 x 91.4 cm)
Along with a monumental multiplane screen, architect Gordon Bunshaft, on behalf of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and its client, Manufacturers Trust Bank, commissioned Bertoia to make this hanging "cloud" sculpture for the the main banking area on the second floor of the bank's new building, located at 510 Fifth Avenue in New York, NY. In 2011, the interior of 510 Fifth Avenue became landmarked, and in 2012, SOM renovated the building and adapted it for retail. While the screen was temporarily removed, the sculpture remains in its original location, on permanent loan from the JP Morgan Art Collection.
Provenance
Published References
"Talk of the Town: Showcase." The New Yorker 30, no. 33 (October 2, 1954), p. 25.
"Manufacturers Trust Company Builds Conversation Piece on Fifth Avenue." Architectural Record 116, no. 5 (November 1954), ill. in b/w, p. 152.
"15,000 Ooh and Ah at Opening of Dazzling, 'Newfangled' Bank." The New York Times, October 5, 1954, p. 29.
"Metal Sculpture—Harry Bertoia." Arts & Architecture 72, no. 1 (January 1955), ill. in b/w, p. 18.
Elson, Katharine. "Architect Designs New Furniture." Washington Post, March 24, 1957, p. F16.
"Space, Form, and Metal." The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, MN), January 22, 1958, p. 1C.
"KSTC Opening Art Conference Tomorrow." Reading Times (Reading, PA), November 5, 1959.
"Bank 'Rain Tree' to Shed Pipe Dreams." The Tulsa Tribune (Tulsa, OK), June 5, 1959, p. 22.
Hakanson, Joy. "Sculptor Back at Cranbrook to Describe His Latest Work." The Detroit News, November 20, 1962, as Commission for Manufacturers Trust Building.
Ditmer, Joanne. "Raising the Roof: Bertoia Chair 'Made of Air.'" The Denver Post, May 29, 1966, p. 32.
Meilach, Dona and Don Seiden. Direct Metal Sculpture: Creative Techniques and Appreciation. New York: Crown, 1966, ill. in b/w.
Huxtable, Ada Louise. "A Landmark Jewel Box Loses Its Biggest Gem." The Wall Street Journal (New York, NY), November 4, 2010.
Stoelker, Tom. "Glass Half Full." The Architect's Newspaper (New York, NY), February 11, 2012.
Sullivan, Marin R. "Alloyed Screens: Harry Bertoia and the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Building-510 Fifth Avenue." Sculpture Journal 25, no. 3 (2016), ill. in b/w, p. 363, as Commission for Manufacturers Trust Building.
Related Work
loading
Record last updated February 14, 2025. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Harry Bertoia Foundation. "Untitled, 1954 (S.WI.25)." In Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné. catalogue.harrybertoia.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=989 (accessed on April 21, 2025).