PREMIER PRE HOLIDAY AUCTION
Lot 139:
Description
William Hunt Diederich, ‘Polo Players’. Wrought Iron & Cut Steel Weathervane
William Hunt Diederich (Hungarian/American, 1884 – 1953). ‘Polo Players’. Iron weather vane. A large wrought iron weather vane. No apparent signature.
Growing up in Szent-Grot, then part of the austro-hungarian empire, Diederich’s family home was a wonderland of exotic hounds, horses, and stags. By the age of five, the young Diederich began creating unique paper silhouettes of animal figures. The tradition of scherenechnitte, otherwise known as paper cutting, began in the 1500’s in switzerland and germany. Diederich’s unusually delicate cutouts were the first manifestation of animals as the primary motif in his work. In 1900, at the age of sixteen, he moved to boston to live with his maternal grandfather, the painter William Morris Hunt. His great uncle, Richard Morris Hunt, was the architect for the central wing of the metropolitan museum of art, and built homes for many of society’s storied families. Ferargil Galleries became his new york art dealer.
Diederich’s interests were very much in keeping with the philosophy of William Morris- making necessary objects beautiful. Aside from paper silhouettes, he also worked in iron – creating firescreens, weather vanes, fountains, lamps and gates. He also maintained a ceramic studio in woodstock, NY. His subjects were primarily stylized animals, abounding with energy. The metropolitan museum of art, the whitney museum and the newark museum all purchased his work during the 1920’s. Posthumously the artist was honored in exhibitions at the museum of american folk art in 1973, the cranbrook academy of art in 1975, and with one-man shows at the whitney museum of american art in 1991, and d. wigmore fine art, inc. in new york in 2005.
39 1/2" high × 47 1/4" wide × 2 3/4" deep.
Condition: Good. Rust to surface, but structurally sound
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