Skip to main content
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2012.
Wolf and Hounds Fire Screen
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2012.
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2012.

Wolf and Hounds Fire Screen

Artist William Hunt Diederich (American, 1884-1953)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1925
MediumWrought iron, sheet iron, and steel mesh
Dimensions47 3/4 x 42 7/8 x 8 3/8 in. (121.3 x 108.9 x 21.3 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2012.12
Not on view
DescriptionThis work is an iron and steel fire screen whose central compositional element is a large circle, within which are inscribed the stylized, silhouetted images of a wolf and three dogs. The top of the piece is circular, while the lower quadrants of the design are filled with decorative elements and a horizontal rectangular panel with interlacing curved iron strips and three cartouches. Below this band is a row of triangular teeth pointing downward. The work is signed in the central cartouche with the artist’s cipher “WHD.” It is supported by four legs, strips of iron that curve out into wide knees, then taper in the lower legs and widen again at the feet. Backing all internal elements of this design is a mesh of horizontal and vertical interwoven lines of steel, forming a regular pattern of squares. All elements are bolted together with evenly-spaced round rivets around the outer edges and on all sides of the lower rectangular base panel.
Label TextWilliam Hunt Diederich American, 1884–1953 Wolf and Hounds Fire Screen, ca. 1925 Wrought iron, sheet iron, and steel mesh Sharp teeth and spiky fur bring fierce rhythm and energy to this beastly spiral. Sculptor William Hunt Diederich specialized in animal forms, using horses, goats, deer, and especially greyhounds in designs for lamps, railings, weathervanes, and statues. This fire screen probably first decorated a Manhattan town house or a Long Island mansion during the boom years of the 1920s. Diederich’s chief patrons—captains of industry and finance—embraced these traditional, masculine hunting motifs and the sleek and modern Art Deco style. Museum purchase 2012.12 ProvenancePrivate collection, Mississippi, ca. 1965–2012; Purchased from sculpture dealer Joel Rosenkranz by Chrysler Museum of Art, November 2012.
Gallery provided image 2020
Chris Day
2020
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II digital slr-2009.
Unknown
Late Dynasty 5-early Dynasty 6, reigns of Unas or Pepy I, 2375-2287 B.C.E.
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
Unknown
ca. 1750
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Sony a7R II 2024.
Andrew Erdos
2014
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.
Unknown
No Date