$267,000
Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976) Untitled (Standing Mobile) , c. 1953 Unsigned. Sheet metal, brass wire, and paint, height 3 in. (7.5 cm) to topmost disk. Condition: Paint losses, slight bend to upper point of the sheet metal base, tarnish to brass wire. Provenance: Commissioned from the artist by Betty Milton, by family descent to the current owner. N.B. This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A28299. By the 1950s, Alexander Calder had become an internationally recognized and respected artist. He was chosen to represent the United States in the 1952 Venice Biennale at which he won the grand prize for sculpture. That same year, he designed sets and costumes for the play Nuclea which opened in Paris, and he worked on the design for a fountain for architect Eero Saarinen's General Motors Techinical Center project in Michigan. Throughout this period, Calder maintained a very high rate of production, working on large-scale sculpture commissions as well as small works like this untitled standing mobile. Though born into a family of artists, Calder initially rejected an artistic career, choosing instead to study mechanical engineering. Ultimately, he conceded to his artistic roots and enrolled in the Art Students League in New York in 1923 and soon afterwards began making regular visits to Paris where he worked on and exhibited small, figurative wire sculptures. In Paris, Calder met fellow artists Joan Miró,
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2017-05-19
