Environment and Evolution
View Similar Items
Alexander CalderEnvironment and Evolution1973
1973
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976, American)
- Creation Year:1973
- Dimensions:Height: 25.75 in (65.41 cm)Width: 38.25 in (97.16 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:Edition of 125Price: $10,000
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1977214320992
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.
Find original Alexander Calder art today on 1stDibs.
- Smoke Sulphur SFE-183By Sam FrancisLocated in New York, NYLithograph in colors, on Rives BFK paper, 1973 Signed in pencil, numbered 16/30 Published by The Litho Shop, Inc. California with their blindstamp Very good condition Sam Francis w...Category
1970s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Wrap in Wrap OutBy ChristoLocated in New York, NYPhotolithograph with a label from Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago verso, unsigned Edition of 100 This was the first Wrapped project Christo did in North America Provenance: Pr...Category
1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Fast Sketch Still Life with Abstract PaintingBy Tom WesselmannLocated in New York, NYScreen Print in colors on Museum Board, Edition of 100 Signed and Dated Provenance: Artist Studio Private Collection, CA Private Collection, NYCategory
1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsScreen
- Fast Sketch of Still Life with Fruit and GoldfishBy Tom WesselmannLocated in New York, NYScreen Print in colors on Museum Board, Edition of 100 Signed and Dated Provenance: Artist Studio Private Collection. CA Private Collection, NYCategory
1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsScreen
- Untitled, Artist ProofBy Sam FrancisLocated in New York, NYThis aquatint has implied movement shown by a blues and red palette. Sam Francis was an American artist known for his exuberant large-scale abstract paintings. His practice incorpor...Category
1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsAquatint
- One Begins with LineBy Marcel DzamaLocated in New York, NYThis is a print by Marcel Dzama and Raymond Pettibone Lithograph in colors on Somerset paper Edition of 30 21.5 x 15.5 inches is full sheet sizeCategory
2010s Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- Artist Motivation - Mandela, Former South African President, Inspirational WordsBy Nelson MandelaLocated in Knowle Lane, CranleighNelson Mandela, Artist's Motivation, Signed Limited Edition Lithograph Many people are unaware that Nelson Mandela turned his hand to art in his 80's as a way of leaving a legacy for his family. He spent time with an art tutor and learnt to draw. In 2002, when creating the The Motivation print, he told Anna and Laura from Belgravia Gallery of his desire to become a full time artist when he retired. This artwork is a handwritten Artist’s Motivation by Nelson Mandela and reads: “Today when I look at Robben Island I see it as a celebration of the struggle and a symbol of the finest qualities of the human spirit, rather than as a monument to the brutal tyranny and oppression of apartheid. Robben Island is a place where courage endured in the face of endless hardship, a place where people kept on believing when it seemed their dreams were hopeless and a place where wisdom and determination overcame fear and human frailty. It is true that Robben Island was once a place of darkness, but out of that darkness has come a wonderful brightness, a light so powerful that it could not be hidden behind prison walls, held back by prison bars...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- EARTH - Mandela, Former South African President, Signed Art, Symbol, CrescentBy Nelson MandelaLocated in Knowle Lane, CranleighNelson Mandela, Earth, Signed Limited Edition Lithograph Many people are unaware that Nelson Mandela turned his hand to art in his 80's as a way of leaving a legacy for his family. H...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- A-Chromatics IIILocated in Brooklyn, NYThis is the third print in the series: "A-Chromatics" by Gabriele Evertz. The series explores the relationships of colors when one change at a time is...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Wilde VIIBy Melissa MeyerLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis gestural print combines the artist's free hand with washes and linear elements to create an activated field.Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Sound 1Located in Brooklyn, NYfrom a series of ten color lithographs based on the artist's geometry/gesture paintings.Category
1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- A-Chromatics IILocated in Brooklyn, NYThis is the second print in the series: "A-Chromatics" by Gabriele Evertz. The series explores the relationships of colors when one change at a time i...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Renowned for His Mobiles, Alexander Calder Was Also Adept at Crafting Modernist Jewelry
There are no sparkling gemstones on this necklace, but its value far exceeds the cost of its materials.
10 Must-Visit American Public Sculptures
Get your dose of Vitamin D while surveying works by the likes of Alexander Calder, Keith Haring and Pablo Picasso.