Alexander Calder

Sky Swirl, Braniff Flying Colors suite, Alexander Calder

1974

ALEXANDER 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...

Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Mark Tobey: Peintres d'aujourd'hui, 1961. Published by Fernand Hazan, Paris; lithographic plates produced by Clichés Union, Paris; printed by Lecot printing and Daniel Jacomet, Paris, 1961. Excepted from the folio (translated from French), Three hundred, seventy-five examples of this edition, numbered from 1 to 375, and shot on the presses of Daniel Jacomet, in Paris. MARK TOBEY (1890-1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophically from most Abstract Expressionist painters. His work was widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe and came in the wake of Picasso and Braque. Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, and William Cumming, Tobey was a founder of the Northwest School. Senior in age and experience, he had a strong influence on the others; friend and mentor, Tobey shared their interest in philosophy and Eastern religions. Similar to others of the Northwest School, Tobey was mostly self-taught after early studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1921, Tobey founded the art department at The Cornish School in Seattle, Washington.Tobey was an incessant traveler, visiting Mexico, Europe, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, China and Japan. After converting to the Baháʼí Faith, it became an important part of his life. Whether Tobey's all-over paintings, marked by oriental brushwork and calligraphic strokes, were an influencer on Jackson Pollock's drip paintings has been left unanswered. Born in Centerville, Wisconsin, Tobey lived in the Seattle, Washington area for most of his life before moving to Basel, Switzerland in the early 1960s with his companion, Pehr Hallsten...

Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Mark Tobey: Peintres d'aujourd'hui, 1961. Published by Fe...

Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Mark Tobey: Peintres d'aujourd'hui, 1961. Published by Fe...

Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Mark Tobey: Peintres d'aujourd'hui, 1961. Published by Fe...

Lithograph on wove paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Mark Tobey: Peintres d'aujourd'hui, 1961. Published by Fe...

This darkly-shaded portrait of two figures is one of a series of 18 lithographs drawn by the artist for the Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs 1974 book and portfolio. This work is from a...

This black and white portrait drawing is one 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 the portfolio (edition of 75) and the book. Signed by the artist and numbered 8/25 lower right in pencil. This print features a pair of sketches...

One 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...

One 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...

This abstract, black and white drawing is one 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 ed...

Paper: 25.25 x 20.5 in. / 64.1 X 52 cm. Image: 10.75 x 11.5 in / 27.3 x 29.2 cm. One of a series of 18 lithographs drawn by the artist for the Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs 1974 bo...