N/A
 in
 cm
Price: $12,500 USD
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Featuring bold primary hues of blue, red, yellow, and orange, this print by iconic American artist Alexander Calder fits well with his early years as a member of the Abstraction-Création group, while the swirling, almost-organic geometric shapes echo back to the wire mechanical mobiles he created earlier in his career. Calder was known for his “drawings in space,” using bold colours like those seen here to dominate the picture plane and to give a sense of depth and motion to a two-dimensional work.
This print is signed and numbered in pencil.
| Medium | Prints |
| Signature | Signed |
| Frame | Unframed |
| Condition | very good |
| Seller | Private |
| Location | USA |
| Provenance | Private collection, USA |
One of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century, Alexander Calder was born in Pennsylvania and displayed an early interest in creating movable objects. Coming from an artistic family—his father and grandfather were well-known sculptors, and his mother was a professional painter—Calder was encouraged by his parents to pursue a more stable career. They insisted he study mechanical engineering, though he eventually chose to follow his artistic passions, relocating to New York City to study painting.
Calder’s move to Paris in 1926 marked a turning point in his career. There, he began constructing intricate mechanical installations, such as his large-scale Cirque Calder, which featured wire sculptures with moving parts. These works were brought to life during two-hour performance sessions where Calder himself operated the mechanisms. His wire sculptures, including portraits and figures, quickly gained critical attention, and he exhibited these works in galleries across New York, Paris, and Berlin.
During his time in Paris, Calder formed friendships with prominent Abstract artists, including Joan Miró and Piet Mondrian. These relationships profoundly influenced his work. Mondrian’s use of bold primary colours and Miró’s playful forms left a lasting impact, leading Calder to embrace abstraction. In 1931, he joined the group Abstraction-Création, solidifying his commitment to non-objective, abstract art.
Inspired by his peers, Calder began incorporating abstract and kinetic elements into his sculptures, the art form for which he is most renowned. French artist Marcel Duchamp coined the term “mobile” for Calder’s sculptures with moving parts, playing on the dual meanings of “motion” and “motive.” These mobiles became iconic for their graceful balance and dynamic forms.
Calder’s works on paper and printmaking often served as studies and explorations for his sculptures. As his sculptures shifted toward pure abstraction in the early 1930s, his drawings and prints followed suit. The thin lines that once defined figures evolved into compositions of geometric shapes, often depicted in motion.
Revolutionising modern art, Calder developed an innovative approach to sculpting by bending and twisting wire to create what he called “drawings in space.” His mobiles, made from industrial materials, resonated with the aesthetics of Futurism and Constructivism while echoing the principles of early non-objective painting. These abstract shapes, sometimes delicately poetic and other times boldly coloured, achieved an uncanny balance that became Calder’s signature.
Throughout his career, Calder received numerous accolades and honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Bicentennial Artist Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1976. His work was celebrated with retrospectives, including one at the Guggenheim Museum in 1964, cementing his legacy as a transformative figure in modern art.
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