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 Calder,
Alexander: 1898-1976 (USA)
The Artist:
Alexander Calder was born in Lawton Pennsylvania in 1886.
Alexander Calder is one of the giants of modern art. He is best known
as the creator of kinetic mobiles and dynamic stables which have brought
a brilliant mix of invention and joy to modern art.
Calder studied engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology
before studying art at the Art Student's League in New York. His teachers
were Guy Du Bois, Boardman Robinson, and George Luks and John Sloan, members
of the Ashcan School. In 1926 Calder moved to Paris where he first created
wire art, figures and abstract toys that were playful, colorful and whimsical
In 1931 Calder met Piet Mondrian in France and was inspired
with the idea that Mondrian's figures should oscillate. From this inspiration
came Calder's moving wire figures, and then the free-floating mobiles
for which he is best known. Calder explored other art venues such as sets
and costumes for Martha Graham dances, a "ballet" of mobiles which moved
to electronic music for Janne Moreau, rugs, and lighting fixtures. Calder
is the subject of three films about contemporary art and his work, the
first of which produced by MOMA in 1944. Throughout his career he accepted
commissions for public art including the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris
World's Fair in 1937, and New York World's Fair in 1939. Other public
art commissions include New York International Airport, General Motors
Corp, UNESCO, and Paris hotels. He was awarded prizes in world arenas
including Venice 1952 Biennial, Carnegie, Architectural League of New
York, Gold Medal, Brandes University, and MOMA, Calder's works appear
in major museums throughout the world such as New York's Museum of Modern
Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Moscow's Museum of Western Art, and Paris'
Museum of Modern Art. He has been given retrospective one person shows
throughout the world including MOMA, Berne, and in 1998 at the National
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Museum of Modern
Art which attracted a total of 603,700 visitors.
In 2001 plans for a new museum to honor Alexander Calder's
art and that of his three generation artistic family, was launched. The
museum site is scheduled to open in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Tadao Ando,
the internationally renowned Pritzker Prize-winning architect who is based
in his native Osaka, Japan, is the architect who will be designing the
project.
The Art:
The magnificent L'Inquietude, and the brilliant
Banif Flying Colors suite, displayed below, are classic examples
of this master's talent. Calder's brilliant career which extended over
five decades, is perfectly represented in the wonderful original lithographs
below. They are works witch were created in Calder's late years and they
reflect an incredibly skilled mastery of the lithograph printmaking technique.
These works are balanced and vibrant, and are classic examples of Calder's
historic an aesthetically compelling art.
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Calder279
Alexander Calder. L'Inquietude. E/A. Lithograph.
The paper side is 24" x 40". The lithograph was acquired in 1978.
The lithograph is signed and numbered in pencil. This work is a
marvelous example of Calder's work. He has mastered the lithograph
technique with classic Calder skill.
It is works like this late Calder that are classic
treasures because they, like all his successes, are permeated with
an unfailing sense of invention, perfect balance, and appropriate
scale, which kept Calder's work extraordinarily fresh. The lithograph,
full sheet and art surface, is in pristine condition. Close-Up
Note: The skewed paper shape is a result of
photography. The actual paper is not skewed.
$3,200.
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Calder150T
Alexander Calder. The Flying Colors Collection.
These six magnificent and original plate-signed lithographs by Alexander
Calder form an exquisite portfolio. Calder conceived this suite
from The Flying Colors mural painted in a DC8-62 jet, comissioned
by Braniff Airlines and completed in October 1973. Each lithograph
is authenticated with the embossed cachet of The Flying Colors
Collection. Two original lithographs from the suite are displayed
below. Close-Up
Contact
us to see the entire suite.
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Calder151
Alexander Calder. Convection. Lithograph.
The paper size is 23" x 30". This plate-signed lithograph pulled
on 100% rag Arches paper and printed in Paris on the traditional
flat bed press which has been used for over 100 years in this method
of printing. The colors are strong and vibrant, and seem to have
a velvet quality similar to silk screen. The lithograph was printed
in 1974. This print is one from the Flying Colors Collection
portfolio. A discussion about the portfolio is presented above at
Calder150T. The lithograph is in pristine condition. Close-Up
$750.
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Calder153
Alexander Calder. Friendship. Lithograph.
The paper size is 23" x 30". This plate-signed lithograph pulled
on 100% rag Arches paper and printed in Paris on the traditional
flat bed press which has been used for over 100 years in this method
of printing. The colors are strong and vibrant, and seem to have
a velvet quality similar to silk screen. The lithograph was printed
in 1974. This print is one from the Flying Colors Collection
portfolio. A discussion about the portfolio is presented above at
Calder150T.
The lithograph is in pristine condition. Close-Up
$750.
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Calder154
(This piece is not shown on our site at this
time, but is available. Contact
us if you would like to see it.)
Alexander Calder. Sky Swirl. Lithograph.
The paper size is 23" x 30". This plate-signed lithograph pulled
on 100% rag Arches paper and printed in Paris on the traditional
flat bed press which has been used for over 100 years in this method
of printing. The colors are strong and vibrant, and seem to have
a velvet quality similar to silk screen. The lithograph was printed
in 1974. This print is one from the Flying Colors Collection
portfolio. A discussion about the portfolio is presented above at
Calder150T The lithograph is in pristine condition.
Close-Up
$750.
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Calder667
(This piece is not shown on our site at this
time, but is available. Contact
us if you would like to see it.)
Alexander Calder. Foundation Maeght 69. Poster.
Lithograph. 25" x 20". This rare and marvelous original lithograph
poster commemorated Calder's one man show at Fondation Maeght 1969.
It displays a fabulous Calder stable in the center of the image.
The color is vibrant and the surface is velvet-like. The lithograph
poster is in excellent condition. Close-Up
$350.
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