Stabiles
View Similar Items
Alexander CalderStabiles1971
1971
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976, American)
- Creation Year:1971
- Dimensions:Height: 32.25 in (81.92 cm)Width: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1477210235632
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.
- Two Women Bathing Child IIBy Henry MooreLocated in New York, NYA very good impression of this color lithograph. One of 25 numbered artist's proofs, aside from the edition of 50. Signed, inscribed "AP" and numbered X/XXV in pencil by Moore. Print...Category
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsColor, Lithograph
- Senza titolo (Concetto Spaziale)By Lucio FontanaLocated in New York, NYA very good impression of this color photolithograph with strong colors on Magnani Pescia paper. Signed and numbered 101/150 in pencil by Fontana. Printed by Le Arte Grafiche Pardini...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsColor, Lithograph
- Forehead IIBy James RosenquistLocated in New York, NYA very good impression of this early color lithograph on Arches paper. One of 6 numbered artist's proofs, aside from the edition of 96. Signed, titled, dated, inscribed "Artist's Pro...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsColor, Lithograph
- Untitled (Pyramids and Ellipses)By Alexander CalderLocated in New York, NYA very good impression of this color lithograph on cream wove paper. Signed and numbered 100/100 in pencil by Calder.Category
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsColor, Lithograph
- CompositionBy Conrad Marca-Relli 1Located in New York, NYA very good impression of this color lithograph on wove paper. Signed, dated and numbered 23/90 in pencil.Category
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsColor, Lithograph
- Busy SignalBy James RosenquistLocated in New York, NYA very good impression of this color lithograph with collage of screenprinted reflective Mylar on Arches. One of 9 numbered artist's proofs, aside from the edition of 84. Signed, tit...Category
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsScreen, Mylar, Color, Lithograph
- Original Innsbruck '76 winter Olympic Games vintage posterLocated in Spokane, WAInnsbruck '76 original Olympics posters. Tirol Austria 1976. Winter Games. Original Olympic poster. Linen-backed. Published by Organizat...Category
1970s American Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- The original limited edition 1965 Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA posterBy Alexander CalderLocated in New York, NYAlexander Calder The original Los Angeles County Museum of Art poster, 1965 Limited Edition vintage Offset Lithograph 32 × 24 3/4 inches 81.3 × 62.9 cm Edition of 300 This is the OR...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Offset
- Pablo Picasso - Painter and His Model - Original LithographBy Pablo PicassoLocated in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CHPablo Picasso - Painter and His Model - Original Lithograph 1964 Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Edition of 200 (one of the 200 on Vélin de Rives) Mourlot Press, 1964 Unsigned and unumbered ...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Paul Jenkins - Composition - Original LithographBy Paul JenkinsLocated in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CHPaul Jenkins - Composition - Original Lithograph 1964 Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Edition of 200 (one of the 200 on Vélin de Rives) Mourlot Press, 1964 Paul Jenkins, American (1923 - 2012) Paul Jenkins, an artist originally associated with abstract expressionism, exhibits in his mature works a redefining of color, light and space on the canvas surface. Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1923, Jenkins worked as a teenager in a ceramics factory, where he was first exposed to color intensity and the creation of form. From age 14 to 18, he studied drawing and painting at the city's Art Institute. Initially interested in drama, Jenkins received a fellowship to the Cleveland Playhouse, then continued his dramatic studies in Pittsburgh at the Drama School of the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Deciding to become an artist, Jenkins moved to New York City in 1948 and studied at the Art Students League. During Jenkins's three years at the League, Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Morris Kantor were his influential instructors. While Jenkins continued to live and paint in New York City, his personal explorations took a metaphysical turn, which would ultimately become dominant in his work. P.D. Ouspensky's The Search of the Miracu/ous changed the artist's thoughts on human growth and limitations, while the Chinese I Ching, through its thematic emphasis on constant change, heightened his interest in flowing paint on canvas. Painting for Jenkins became an intuitive, almost mystical process. He commented, "I paint what God is to me." In 1953, Jenkins traveled to Paris, where, a year later, he had his first one-man show. While working at the American Artists Center, he continued to experiment with flowing paints, pouring pigment in streams of various thicknesses, with white thin spills as linear overlays. Jenkins's intent was to deny stasis and create a literal and metaphysical sense of dynamism, while maintaining a sense of unity. Beginning in 1958, Jenkins titled each canvas Phenomena, with additional identifying words. He believed the work to be descriptive of the discovery process inherent in each painting. Paralleling his beliefs, the artist's paintings have undergone subtle but definite changes. Beginning in the early 1 960s, a shift of color saturation and exposure of the white areas gave Jenkins's canvases an enhanced feeling of illumination. If Jenkins's technique is unorthodox, he is in many other ways a traditional artist. He works in an acrylic medium on traditional linen canvas or fine rag paper. Often he uses an ivory knife...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- André Beaudin - Composition - LithographBy Andre BeaudinLocated in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CHAndré Beaudin - Composition - Original Lithograph 1964 Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Edition of 200 (one of the 200 on Vélin de Rives) Mourlot Press, 1964 Unsigned and unumbered as issuedCategory
1960s Modern Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Alfred Manessier - Abstract Blue Composition - Original LithographBy Alfred ManessierLocated in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CHAlfred Manessier - Abstract Blue Composition - Original Lithograph 1964 Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Edition of 200 (one of the 200 on Vélin de Rives) Mourl...Category
1960s Modern 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.