

Alexander Calder United States, 1898-1976
21 7/8 x 29 3/4 in
framed: 75 x 94.5 x 4.5 cm
Alexander Calder (b. Lawnton, PA in 1898) initially studied mechanical engineering but eventually shifted his focus to art. Calder's mobiles were a groundbreaking departure from traditional static sculptures composed of suspended elements that delicately balanced and moved in response to air currents, introducing a dynamic, ever-changing dimension to the art form. Calder also created stabiles, large-scale stationary sculptures of geometric shapes. His ability to imbue inanimate objects with a sense of vitality and movement was a defining aspect of his work. He received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Grand Prize for Sculpture at the Venice Biennale in 1952, marking the first time a sculptor had been honoured with this award. Today, Calder's works can be found in several prestigious museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, among many others. Calder died in New York, NY in 1976.
Provenance
Collection of Malcolm Cowley
Private Collection, Europe
Exhibitions
Calder & Miró, MARUANI MERCIER, July – August 2023, Knokke, BelgiumWadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Calder in Connecticut, 28th April - 6th August 2000, Hartford, CT
ARTALROC, Escaldes-Engordany (Ministry for Culture Andorra), Calder: La Geometria del colour, 22nd May - 2nd September 2018, Andorra
K Museum of Contemporary Art, Calder on Paper, 13th December 2019 – 13th April 2020, Seoul, South Korea
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Calder: The Great Yellow Sun, January 2021 – August 2021, Tel Aviv, Israel
Literature
Zafran, Eric M. Calder in Connecticut. Rizzoli, New York, p. 62, no. 55, illustration colour
Exhibition Catalogue: Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Calder: The Great Yellow Sun, 2021
Publications
This work is registered in the archives of The Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A18612.