Huntington gift sounds intriguing

What’s this? A kinetic sculpture that makes mysterious noises on the grounds of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens?

The bastion of old-fashioned British portraiture and marble statuary has been expanding its American collection for years, but “Sounding Sculpture” -- a 19-foot-tall bronze made in the 1970s by American artist Harry Bertoia -- is a new twist.

A sort of wind-powered musical instrument that emulates bird songs and rustling leaves, the new attraction is a promised gift of the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation facilitated by their daughter, Los Angeles art collector Nancy Berman.

-- Suzanne Muchnic