Central Park

This distinctive bronze sculpture by Dolly Perutz (1908-1979) is situated on the roof of The Arsenal, the site of Parks headquarters and former home of the Museum of Natural History. Cast at Modern Art Foundry in Astoria, Queens, the work consists of a modeled bird’s head and feet connected by stylized plumage made from welded bronze plates.

Sculptor Dolly Perutz was born in Prague and moved to the United States during early adulthood. While her art would always exhibit the influence of central European folklore and imagination, Perutz’s medium evolved throughout her career, as woodblock prints gave way to playful lithographs, encaustic studies, and sculptures. In the mid-1960s, when many artists were exploring conceptual or pop references, Perutz abandoned her figurative style and began to experiment with abstract juxtapositions of color and texture, creating her first wax sculpture molds.

A sense of surrealistic dreaming posed with pleasant humor layered Perutz’s work as she moved into three-dimensional art. Taking her cue from the “gothic bestiary” of Jean Dubuffet, she based her sculptures on the same principles of juxtaposition that had informed her encaustics in the previous decade. Bird Flying Machine, with its organic head and feet set against smooth, polished feathers, embodies this jarring ideal.

Perutz has had numerous one-person exhibitions in New York City and elsewhere; her works are in many public collections including the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and Fordham University. Exhibited at Bodley Gallery in 1981, this sculpture was executed in 1973, and installed on the Arsenal Roof in 1991.