Sky Bird (Braniff Flying Colors), 1974 Ltd Ed Lithograph, Alexander Calder
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Alexander CalderSky Bird (Braniff Flying Colors), 1974 Ltd Ed Lithograph, Alexander Calder1974
1974
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976, American)
- Creation Year:1974
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:“Excellent Condition; never framed or matted”.
- Gallery Location:Auburn Hills, MI
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU146529496382
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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- Sky Bird, Braniff Flying Colors suite, Alexander CalderBy Alexander CalderLocated in Auburn Hills, MIALEXANDER CALDER (1898-1976) Credited with the invention of the mobile, Alexander Calder revolutionized twentieth-century art with his innovative use of subtle air currents to animate sculpture. Calder was prolific and worked throughout his career in many art forms. An accomplished painter of gouaches and sculptor in a variety of media, Calder is best known for poetic arrangements of boldly colored, irregularly shaped geometric forms that convey a sense of harmony and balance. He also designed jewelry, tapestry, theater settings and architectural interiors. From the 1940s on, Calder's works, many of them large-scale outdoor sculptures, have been placed in virtually every major city of the Western world. Original Limited Edition Lithograph on Arches paper, 1974. Edition: 3,000. Paper Size: 20" x 26." Monogrammed & dated on the stone plate ‘CA 74’. A superb impression of the definitive state, from the edition commissioned by Braniff International Airlines. One of six plates comprising the Flying Colors Collection, bearing its blindstamp in the sheet lower right. Printed at Atelier Fernand Mourlot, Paris. Excellent Condition; never framed or matted. ABOUT THE FLYING COLORS COLLECTION: In 1972, Dallas based Braniff International Airways commissioned Alexander Calder to paint a full-size Douglas DC-8-62 airliner as a “flying canvas.” Models of the aircraft were sent to Calder at his studio in France in November of 1972, and work commenced. Braniff announced the Calder collaboration to the public on June 4, 1973. This was to be the first time that an artist had ever painted a jetliner used in regular airline service...Category
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
$1,036 Sale Price20% Off - Sky Swirl, Braniff Flying Colors suite, Alexander CalderBy Alexander CalderLocated in Auburn Hills, MIALEXANDER CALDER (1898-1976) Credited with the invention of the mobile, Alexander Calder revolutionized twentieth-century art with his innovative use of subtle air currents to animat...Category
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- Lullaby Sketches: black white drawing based on Auden poetry and Yorkshire landsBy Henry MooreLocated in New York, NYOne of a series of 18 lithographs drawn by the artist for the Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs 1974 book and portfolio. This work is from an edition of 25 printed on vellum aside from t...Category
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