Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is the most acclaimed and influential sculptor of our time. He began by developing a new method of sculpting by bending and twisting wire and essentially drawing three-dimensional figures in space. He is renowned for the invention of the mobile, whose suspended, abstract elements move and balance in changing harmony. Calder worked in a time of artistic upheaval and dared to concern his aesthetic revolution with a somewhat taboo topic in the art world – fun. His prolific and passionate output of paintings, lithographs, sculpture and toys brought with it a humor and sense of play unlike any that came before. He ignored the formal structure of what art could be. His first New York exhibition was in 1928 and along with subsequent exhibitions in Paris and Berlin, Calder gained international recognition as a significant artist. Working in the abstract style, in 1932 he exhibited his first moving sculpture in an exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp, who coined the word “mobile.” From the 40’s on, Calder’s works were mainly large-scale outdoor sculptures that have been placed in virtually every major city in the Western world. Being influenced by Mondrian and Miro, Calder’s paintings exhibit the same sense of buoyancy, wit and whimsy as his sculpture and convey a sense of movement through the use of a single, unbroken line. The shape, color and abstraction employed by Calder capture lifelike movement imbued with consistent joy. Alexander Calder is a giant in modern art and had a long, prolific career producing more that 16,000 works of art, an average of one work a day for 50 years.
Please click on image above to experience our new virtual gallery featuring Alexander Calder art selections
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Rising Sun, Sickle Moon
Signed and dated lower right Calder 67 Gouache on paper 29 3/8 x 43 in. Painted in 1967
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Black Spiral
Signed and dated lower right Calder 61 Gouache on paper 21 x 29 1/2 in. Painted in 1961 Provenance: Purchased 1976 Bowles Hopkins Gallery, San Francisco, CA Private Collection, CA
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Les Pyramides Grandes
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 86/95 lower left Color lithograph 30 x 43 in. Edition 86/95 Executed circa 1973
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Homage to the Sun
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 111/150 lower left Color lithograph 26 1/4 x 38 5/8 in. Edition 111/150 Executed in 1973
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Deux Tetes
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 19/90 lower left Color lithograph 18 1/2 x 31 1/2 in. Edition 19/90 Executed in 1970
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Untitled
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 59/100 lower left Color lithograph 20 3/8 x 28 1/4 in. Edition 59/100
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Le Memoire Elementaire
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 71/100 lower left Color lithograph 20 1/4 x 27 1/2 in. Edition 71/100 Executed in 1976
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Cinq Boules e Deux Serpents
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 63/100 lower left Color lithograph 21 x 29 in. Edition 63/100 Executed in 1976
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Black Pyramids
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 63/100 lower left Color lithograph 23 x 30 3/4 in. Edition 63/100 Executed in 1970
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Papouse
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 18/75 lower left Color lithograph 29 1/2 x 43 in. Edition 18/75
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Butterflies and Spirals
Signed Calder lower right and initialed EA lower left Color lithograph 26 x 38 1/2 in. Edition EA
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Sunrise
Signed Calder lower right and numbered 8/125 lower left Color lithograph 20 1/2 x 27 3/4 in. Edition 8/125
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Stones Signed Calder lower right and numbered 174/200 lower left Color lithograph 26 1/4 x 20 in. Edition 174/200
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Balloons Signed Calder lower right and numbered 27/100 lower left Color lithograph 26 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. Edition 27/100
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Pyramids Signed Calder lower right and numbered 20/200 lower left Color lithograph 29 x 21 1/2 in. Edition 20/200
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Puppets
Signed Calder lower right and initialed EA lower left Color lithograph 22 x 29 1/2 in. Edition of 100 plus proofs, 10 EA and 10 HC Executed in 1975
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