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Alexander CalderSketch for 'The X & Its Tails'. 19671967
1967
About the Item
This work is registered as an authentic work by Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976) in the archives of the Calder Foundation (NY), under application number A.24492. Created in 1967, this original pen and red ink drawing on paper is initialed ‘CA’ in blue ink in the lower right by Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976) with a handwritten dedication, also in blue ink, ‘To Alvin Lane’ along the lower center.
The Sketch for ‘The X & Its Tails’ is an original study and preliminary drawing made by Calder preceding his large-scale sculpture for the Detroit Institute of Arts. Sketches for models and sculptures are rare and this is no exception; according to Alvin S. Lane, collector and friend to Calder, “To the best of my knowledge there were very few, if any, preliminary drawings done by Calder that were on the market, but he was good enough when he did two for commissions to send the drawings to me as a present [including this Sketch for ‘The X & Its Tails’]. I included one of them here to show that although his drawings usually have a flowing steady line, his preliminary drawings are sloppy scribbles” (23).
Provenance:
~ Gift of artist
~ Private Collection (Riverdale, NJ)
Catalogue Raisonné and COA:
Sketch for 'The X & Its Tails,' 1967 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).
1. Registered with the Calder Foundation, NY under application number A.24492.
2. Elvehjem Museum of Art. The Terese and Alvin S. Lane Collection: Twentieth-Century Sculpture and Sculptors’ Works on Paper. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1995. Listed and illustrated on pg. 23, Fig. 4.
3. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.
About the Framing:
Conservation framed with archival materials, this work is set in a modern, black and gold frame. The minimalist contemporary style of the moulding compliments the bold lines and color within this work. The gold and black tones of the framing also serve to enhance the contrast and vibrancy of the colors in this piece. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind an archival Plexiglas cover.
- Creator:Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976, American)
- Creation Year:1967
- Dimensions:Height: 10.88 in (27.64 cm)Width: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Palo Alto, CA
- Reference Number:
Alexander Calder
The American sculptor Alexander Calder is known as the father of the mobile, a moving artwork composed of delicately balanced sculptural forms suspended from the ceiling.
Because Calder's parents, both artists themselves, did not want him to suffer the hardships of trying to make a living in art, they encouraged the young Calder to study mechanical engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He worked a number of jobs, including as a hydraulic engineer and draftsman for the New York Edison Company, before deciding to pursue an artistic career. He never abandoned his engineering background, however, applying his understanding of gears and moving parts in all his artworks, from mechanical toys like the Cirque Calder (1931) and his revered prints to his free-standing abstract sculptures, called stabiles.
In 1926, Calder moved to Paris and established a studio in the Montparnasse quarter. He began creating the many parts of his famous miniature circus from found materials, such as wire, string, cloth, rubber and cork. Designed to be transportable, Cirque grew to fill five suitcases over the years. Always interested in putting forms in motion, Calder also pioneered a new art form called wire sculptures, which he described as “drawings in space.” Like his famous mobiles, the wire sculptures were suspended so that they turned with any movement of the air, presenting different forms when viewed from different angles.
In the 1950s, Calder returned to his roots in mechanical engineering, creating monumental abstract sculptures that verged on the architectural. He worked from loose gestural drawings like this preparatory sketch for his Man Stabile, from 1966. Throughout his career, he also worked as a set designer for the theater, as well as an illustrator and printmaker, producing vibrant, whimsical drawings for books and journals.
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