Alexander Calder
1898–1976
Introduction
Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his monumental public sculptures. Calder preferred not to analyze his work, saying, "Theories may be all very well for the artist himself, but they shouldn't be broadcast to other people."
Wikidata identifier
Q151580
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed April 17, 2024.
Introduction
Calder graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1919 with a degree in mechanical engineering. After taking classes at the Arts Students League, he became a freelance artist and illustrator, and published a book titled Animal Sketching. In the 1920s, Calder began traveling to Paris, where he was exposed to modernist tendencies in art. In 1930, after visiting Piet Mondrian's studio, where he was impressed by the studio environment, he began to create Comment on works: abstract, moving constructions, coined “mobiles” by Marcel Duchamp in 1931, for which he is most known. From the 1930s onward, Calder divided his time between trips abroad and his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, and as his commissions grew more frequent, his mobiles became increasingly gigantic. Examples are Flamingo, the stabile at Federal Center Plaza in Chicago, and L’Araignée rouge, at the Rond Point de La Défense Métro station in Paris.. Comment on works: abstract
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, designer, illustrator, lithographer, painter, sculptor, tapestry designer
ULAN identifier
500007824
Names
Alexander Calder, Calder, Sandy Calder
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed April 17, 2024.
186 works
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(Study for Save Our Planet poster)
1971 -
Big Bug
1970 -
Indian Feathers
1969 -
Red Nose
1969 -
Study for Spirals (Art in America Print)
1969 -
Study for Spirals (Art in America Print)
1969 -
(Study for Art in America print)
1969 -
Maquette for Spirals
1969 -
Portrait of Yves Elleouet from La Proue de la table
1967 -
Pour Le Viet Nam
1967 -
Fronton
1965 -
The Cock's Comb
1960 -
On view
Floor 7Big Red
1959 -
Untitled
1959 -
The Arches
1959 -
Seven-Legged Beast
1957 -
Untitled (Maquette)
c. 1956 -
Composition
1953 -
Bifurcated Tower
1950 -
Pomegranate
1949 -
A Piece of My Workshop
1948 -
Sea Scape
1947 -
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
c. 1947 -
Blizzard
1946 -
The Mermaid
c. 1945 -
Snake on a Post
1944 -
Lentil
1944 -
The Big I
1944 -
Fish
1944 -
Constellation with Quadrilateral
1943
186 works