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What was Alexander Calder best known for?
1 Answer
Alexander Calder is best known for his sculptures. He produced large, playful freestanding and hanging works in vibrant colors. Examples include Mobile-Stabile, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail and Flying Dragon. On 1stDibs, you can shop a selection of Alexander Calder art.
1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
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Shop for Alexander Calder Paintings on 1stDibs
Zigzag Sun and Crags
By Alexander Calder
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Alexander Calder. "Zigzag Sun and Crags" is a Post-War abstract painting, gouache and ink on paper in bold colors of reds, blacks, and blues by artist Alexander Calder. The artwork is signed lower right, "Calder 72...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-War Abstract Paintings
Materials
Ink, Gouache
Bowling, 1974
By Alexander Calder
Located in Greenwich, CT
Bowling
gouache and ink on paper
29.5 x 43.25"
signed and dated "Calder 74" on recto, lower right
This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York.
LITERA...
Category
20th Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Large Black Face With Sun, 1968
By Alexander Calder
Located in Greenwich, CT
Large Black Face with Sun, 1968
gouache and ink on paper
29.25 x 43"
signed and dated "Calder 68" lower right
This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York.
EXHIBITED
Calder, Grand Valley State College, Manitou Gallery, Allendale, Michigan, May 4-June 15, 1969
Alexander Calder: Mobiles, Stabiles Gouaches, Drawings from the Michigan Collections, Flint Institute of Arts, February 20-
March 27, 1983, no. 47, pp. 30 and 32, illustrated
Alexander Calder: Sculpture and Works on Paper, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, April 4-26, 2006
“At the time and practically ever since, the underlying form in my work has been the system of the universe, for that is a rather larger model to work from.” – Alexander Calder, 1951 (‘What Abstract Art Means to Me’, The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, Vol. 18, No. 3, Spring, 1951)
Alexander Calder’s interest in cosmology, the philosophical and astronomical systems of the universe, is at the heart of his creative output. The discovery of Pluto in the 1930s was a defining moment that instigated his fascination with the solar system and astronomy. Over the ensuing years he focused on creating entire worlds like ‘Calder’s Circus’ and his ‘Constellations’ sculptures...
Category
20th Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Paper
Mickey Mouse
By Alexander Calder
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Alexander Calder. "Mickey Mouse" is a Post-War abstract painting, gouache and ink on paper in bold colors of reds, blacks, yellows, and oran...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-War Abstract Paintings
Materials
Ink, Gouache
Untitled, 1964
By Alexander Calder
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Renowned for his mobiles, Alexander Calder applies the same principles of movement found in his sculptural works in this gouache work titled Untitled, 1964. Vertical yellow stripes cover the background, over which crisscrossed lines of red are punctuated with dripping blue dots. The layers of color bleed into each other, drawing attention to the water-based medium of the pigments. Gouache paint consists of opaque pigments ground in water and a thickener, which yields an especially rich color for a water-based paint. Thin abstracted lines and dots in black fill the lower half of the composition with the same swaying movement of grass blades in the wind. The swirl in the lower right corner of the composition is a signature formal motif in both Calder’s three-dimensional and two-dimensional works. Through a masterful handling of gouache, Alexander Calder Untitled...
Category
1960s Modern Abstract Paintings
Materials
Ink, Gouache
L' Envolee
By Alexander Calder
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Alexander Calder. "L'Envolee" is a Post-War abstract painting, gouache and ink on paper in bold colors of reds and blacks by artist Alexander Calder. The artwork is sig...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-War Abstract Paintings
Materials
Ink, Gouache