Alexander CALDER (1898-1976)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Glass and crystal
Chronology : 1943 1945 1952 1953 1957
See also : Glass and crystal
Chronology : 1943 1945 1952 1953 1957
masterpiece
1939 Lobster Trap and Fish Tail
MoMA
Son of an artist, Alexander Calder is a mechanical engineer. To rebuild the world, he tries to create carousels of toys, before introducing the movement in sculpture.
The story of his visit to Mondrian in 1930 is probably true. He would like the little artworks to fly away from the wall and occupy the space. Back from Europe in 1933, he set up his workshop in Roxbury, Connecticut. He had developed in Paris his new forms of art, the figurative wire sculpture and then the abstract mobile inspired by nature. Influenced by Mondrian's art, Calder uses pure colors.
His desire is to occupy space, as nature does. The leaves of his tree do not shade each other. In his so called mobiles, he hangs his art at the ceiling through a wire so that it moves in the air stream.
His experience accumulates over the years. In order for his hanging mobiles to be spectacular, he increases the number of plaques and enlarges the span, proportionally reducing the visibility on the single wire which links the piece to the ceiling. He sometimes gives the opus a title inspired by nature and adds poetry through the choice of colors.
Built around a stem or suspended from the ceiling by a string, these works of art move with the air flow. They are appealing by their humor but their balance that may seem precarious meets the design accuracy of the engineer. The materials are commonplace.
Alfred H. Barr Jr, the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, is a pioneer for the artistic relations between Europe and America. In 1939, he commissions a monumental work to Calder for the staircase of a new MoMA building. Made of steel wire and painted aluminum sheets, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail is a mobile in which the basket is made of steel wire.
Standing mobiles were first exhibited at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York in 1941.
A small tripod mobile in painted sheet metal executed by Calder ca 1942 has an incredibly balanced 86 cm span for a height of 57 cm. Its width is 12.7 cm. This untitled mobile was kept by the artist until 1949. It was sold for $ 7.8M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 2.
At mid height of the stem, a single round plaque is attached at one side while the opposite wire supports an elegant tail of five white plaques in decreasing sizes, balanced by a bigger black plaque and by a small black plaque thrown upwards. The top of the stem supports a curbed wire holding two small plaques. The three legs may be considered as biomorphic in the style of Miro.
The story of his visit to Mondrian in 1930 is probably true. He would like the little artworks to fly away from the wall and occupy the space. Back from Europe in 1933, he set up his workshop in Roxbury, Connecticut. He had developed in Paris his new forms of art, the figurative wire sculpture and then the abstract mobile inspired by nature. Influenced by Mondrian's art, Calder uses pure colors.
His desire is to occupy space, as nature does. The leaves of his tree do not shade each other. In his so called mobiles, he hangs his art at the ceiling through a wire so that it moves in the air stream.
His experience accumulates over the years. In order for his hanging mobiles to be spectacular, he increases the number of plaques and enlarges the span, proportionally reducing the visibility on the single wire which links the piece to the ceiling. He sometimes gives the opus a title inspired by nature and adds poetry through the choice of colors.
Built around a stem or suspended from the ceiling by a string, these works of art move with the air flow. They are appealing by their humor but their balance that may seem precarious meets the design accuracy of the engineer. The materials are commonplace.
Alfred H. Barr Jr, the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, is a pioneer for the artistic relations between Europe and America. In 1939, he commissions a monumental work to Calder for the staircase of a new MoMA building. Made of steel wire and painted aluminum sheets, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail is a mobile in which the basket is made of steel wire.
Standing mobiles were first exhibited at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York in 1941.
A small tripod mobile in painted sheet metal executed by Calder ca 1942 has an incredibly balanced 86 cm span for a height of 57 cm. Its width is 12.7 cm. This untitled mobile was kept by the artist until 1949. It was sold for $ 7.8M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 2.
At mid height of the stem, a single round plaque is attached at one side while the opposite wire supports an elegant tail of five white plaques in decreasing sizes, balanced by a bigger black plaque and by a small black plaque thrown upwards. The top of the stem supports a curbed wire holding two small plaques. The three legs may be considered as biomorphic in the style of Miro.
1943 Constellation
2025 SOLD for $ 20.4M by Christie's
Painted Wood is a hanging mobile 200 x 190 x 11.5 cm from the Constellation series, executed in 1943 by Calder in wood, string, wire and paint. It was sold for $ 20.4M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on November 17, 2025, lot 28A.
Asking Grok the evolution of Calder's hanging mobiles from the seminal MoMA's Lobster trap and Fish tail to the Painted Wood.
Grok thought :
Alexander Calder's hanging mobiles represent a groundbreaking innovation in 20th-century sculpture, introducing kinetic elements that respond to air currents and transform static art into dynamic experiences. His works evolved from early motorized abstractions in the 1930s to wind-driven pieces, with a notable shift in materials and forms during World War II. This progression is exemplified by the transition from his 1939 seminal work Lobster Trap and Fish Tail—a metal-based mobile in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection—to Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile set for auction at Christie's on November 17, 2025, as lot 28A in the 20th Century Evening Sale.
Calder's early mobiles in the 1930s drew from his engineering background and encounters with abstract artists like Piet Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who coined the term "mobile" in 1931 to describe Calder's motorized wire and wood constructions. Initially, these pieces featured geometric shapes and mechanical movement, but by the mid-1930s, Calder abandoned motors in favor of natural air flow, allowing for unpredictable, graceful motion that emphasized balance, space, and chance. This air-driven approach became a hallmark, with mobiles suspended from ceilings to create shifting spatial relationships and shadows.
Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, created in 1939, marks a high point in this pre-war phase. Commissioned by MoMA's Advisory Committee for the stairwell of the museum's new building on West 53rd Street in New York, it measures approximately 102 × 114 inches (8'6" high × 9'6" wide) and is constructed from painted steel wire and sheet aluminum. The mobile features nine black organic lobes that gently pivot around a red central shaft, with arched wires extending outward to hold mobile aluminum shapes evoking marine forms like a lobster trap and a fish tail. Its biomorphic elements—curved, nature-inspired forms—reflect Calder's growing interest in organic abstraction, influenced by surrealists like Joan Miró. Suspended in MoMA's stairwell since its installation, the work exemplifies Calder's mastery of industrial materials like sheet metal, which he cut, bent, and painted to achieve delicate equilibrium and motion. It was a critical success, embodying the mobile's potential to "draw in space" and interact with its environment.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disrupted Calder's practice, as aluminum and sheet metal became scarce due to their prioritization for military production, such as airplanes. By 1942, facing these shortages at his Roxbury, Connecticut studio, Calder adapted by turning to readily available organic materials like wood (including ebony, walnut, oak, purpleheart, and lignum vitae), string, and found objects such as shards of glass, ceramics, and tin cans. This material pivot not only solved practical constraints but also enriched his aesthetic, introducing warmer, textured elements that contrasted with the cool precision of metal. He began carving and smoothing wood, sometimes leaving natural grains visible alongside painted surfaces, which added a more tactile, earthly quality to his abstractions. This era birthed the "Constellations" series in 1943—clusters of wooden forms connected by wire and thread, blending static and kinetic elements in a "supreme form" of movement and color, as suggested by Duchamp and curator James Johnson Sweeney.
Painted Wood (1943) epitomizes this wartime evolution. Executed in wood, string, wire, and paint, it spans 78 × 74½ × 4½ inches and consists of 11 biomorphic and abstract forms—some vibrantly painted in colors, others in natural wood tones—suspended in a monumental, interactive configuration nearly seven feet wide. Unlike the sleek, industrial Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, this piece incorporates carved wood for a more organic, handcrafted feel, reflecting Calder's experimentation with wartime alternatives while maintaining the mobile's core principles of balance and air-driven motion. It was prominently featured in Calder's landmark 1943 MoMA retrospective, Alexander Calder: Sculptures and Constructions (September 29, 1943–January 16, 1944), where it hung as a highlight, allowing visitors to interact by blowing on it to activate its movement. The exhibition, Calder's first major retrospective at age 45, cemented his status and showcased the Constellations as a bold advancement. In 1948, Calder gifted Painted Wood to Brazilian architect Henrique Mindlin after a successful exhibition in Rio de Janeiro; it later entered a private collection for 32 years before its auction debut.
This shift from metal to wood in works like Painted Wood not only demonstrated Calder's resourcefulness but also deepened the mobiles' dialogue with nature, foreshadowing his post-war return to larger-scale metal pieces while expanding the medium's expressive range. Estimated at $15 million–$20 million, the highest ever for a Calder work at auction, Painted Wood underscores the enduring value of this evolutionary phase.
Pre sale Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Oct 17
Alexander Calder’s ‘Painted Wood’ will be offered in our 20th Century Evening Sale in New York this November. https://christies.com/en/stories/calder-painted-wood-mobile-d94e5671fbfe4bbc85c6492247353d48?cid=EM_SM_O_TW_Inc_CON_______Multi____…
Asking Grok the evolution of Calder's hanging mobiles from the seminal MoMA's Lobster trap and Fish tail to the Painted Wood.
Grok thought :
Alexander Calder's hanging mobiles represent a groundbreaking innovation in 20th-century sculpture, introducing kinetic elements that respond to air currents and transform static art into dynamic experiences. His works evolved from early motorized abstractions in the 1930s to wind-driven pieces, with a notable shift in materials and forms during World War II. This progression is exemplified by the transition from his 1939 seminal work Lobster Trap and Fish Tail—a metal-based mobile in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection—to Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile set for auction at Christie's on November 17, 2025, as lot 28A in the 20th Century Evening Sale.
Calder's early mobiles in the 1930s drew from his engineering background and encounters with abstract artists like Piet Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who coined the term "mobile" in 1931 to describe Calder's motorized wire and wood constructions. Initially, these pieces featured geometric shapes and mechanical movement, but by the mid-1930s, Calder abandoned motors in favor of natural air flow, allowing for unpredictable, graceful motion that emphasized balance, space, and chance. This air-driven approach became a hallmark, with mobiles suspended from ceilings to create shifting spatial relationships and shadows.
Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, created in 1939, marks a high point in this pre-war phase. Commissioned by MoMA's Advisory Committee for the stairwell of the museum's new building on West 53rd Street in New York, it measures approximately 102 × 114 inches (8'6" high × 9'6" wide) and is constructed from painted steel wire and sheet aluminum. The mobile features nine black organic lobes that gently pivot around a red central shaft, with arched wires extending outward to hold mobile aluminum shapes evoking marine forms like a lobster trap and a fish tail. Its biomorphic elements—curved, nature-inspired forms—reflect Calder's growing interest in organic abstraction, influenced by surrealists like Joan Miró. Suspended in MoMA's stairwell since its installation, the work exemplifies Calder's mastery of industrial materials like sheet metal, which he cut, bent, and painted to achieve delicate equilibrium and motion. It was a critical success, embodying the mobile's potential to "draw in space" and interact with its environment.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disrupted Calder's practice, as aluminum and sheet metal became scarce due to their prioritization for military production, such as airplanes. By 1942, facing these shortages at his Roxbury, Connecticut studio, Calder adapted by turning to readily available organic materials like wood (including ebony, walnut, oak, purpleheart, and lignum vitae), string, and found objects such as shards of glass, ceramics, and tin cans. This material pivot not only solved practical constraints but also enriched his aesthetic, introducing warmer, textured elements that contrasted with the cool precision of metal. He began carving and smoothing wood, sometimes leaving natural grains visible alongside painted surfaces, which added a more tactile, earthly quality to his abstractions. This era birthed the "Constellations" series in 1943—clusters of wooden forms connected by wire and thread, blending static and kinetic elements in a "supreme form" of movement and color, as suggested by Duchamp and curator James Johnson Sweeney.
Painted Wood (1943) epitomizes this wartime evolution. Executed in wood, string, wire, and paint, it spans 78 × 74½ × 4½ inches and consists of 11 biomorphic and abstract forms—some vibrantly painted in colors, others in natural wood tones—suspended in a monumental, interactive configuration nearly seven feet wide. Unlike the sleek, industrial Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, this piece incorporates carved wood for a more organic, handcrafted feel, reflecting Calder's experimentation with wartime alternatives while maintaining the mobile's core principles of balance and air-driven motion. It was prominently featured in Calder's landmark 1943 MoMA retrospective, Alexander Calder: Sculptures and Constructions (September 29, 1943–January 16, 1944), where it hung as a highlight, allowing visitors to interact by blowing on it to activate its movement. The exhibition, Calder's first major retrospective at age 45, cemented his status and showcased the Constellations as a bold advancement. In 1948, Calder gifted Painted Wood to Brazilian architect Henrique Mindlin after a successful exhibition in Rio de Janeiro; it later entered a private collection for 32 years before its auction debut.
This shift from metal to wood in works like Painted Wood not only demonstrated Calder's resourcefulness but also deepened the mobiles' dialogue with nature, foreshadowing his post-war return to larger-scale metal pieces while expanding the medium's expressive range. Estimated at $15 million–$20 million, the highest ever for a Calder work at auction, Painted Wood underscores the enduring value of this evolutionary phase.
Pre sale Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Oct 17
Alexander Calder’s ‘Painted Wood’ will be offered in our 20th Century Evening Sale in New York this November. https://christies.com/en/stories/calder-painted-wood-mobile-d94e5671fbfe4bbc85c6492247353d48?cid=EM_SM_O_TW_Inc_CON_______Multi____…
- Alexander Calder's Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile from his Constellation series measuring nearly seven feet wide with eleven hand-carved, painted biomorphic forms, headlines Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale on November 17, 2025, in New York, with an estimate of $15–20 million.
- Created during World War II material shortages, it shifted Calder from metal to woods like walnut and purpleheart; it debuted at his groundbreaking 1943 MoMA retrospective—the youngest artist ever honored there—and was later gifted to Brazilian architect Henrique Mindlin after a 1948 Rio exhibition.
- As the largest wooden Constellation mobile at auction, it exemplifies Calder's kinetic innovation, inspiring Albert Einstein's quip, "I wish I'd thought of that," and approaches his $25.9 million auction record set by Poisson volant in 2014.
1945 Lily of Force
2012 SOLD for $ 18.5M by Christie's
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of them." (Luke 12:27).
In 1945, Alexander Calder looked at the lilies. Not only Lily of Force is one of his most successful mobiles, but it provides the key to the inspiration of the artist.
Lily of Force is a complex wire structure, over 2 meters high, perfectly balanced despite its delicate features. The lilies have found their way up. The movement of the mobile reminds the passage of sunlight in the foliage, with the wonderful effect of nature when leaves never shadow one another.
It is also a bridge between abstraction and figuration in the art of Calder. For another reason, this artwork is highly important. Calder loved Europe and its avant-gardes, Mondrian, Miro. Fleeing the war, he is in the United States in 1945. Lily of Force is a link between Europe slowed by the war and the sudden restart of American creativity : Pollock, Still, Rothko.
Lily of force was sold for $ 18.5M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Christie's on May 8, 2012, lot 33. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Art meets gravitation and fun in the unprecedented three dimensional language of Calder's mobiles.
Submarine Christmas Tree is not a tree because it does not have a trunk or a central stem. This hanging mobile executed in 1947 displays a variety of childish elements that could decorate a Christmas tree, including stars, crescents and a smiling dish.
Eleven hovering forms in silver polished and red painted metal are hanging in a perfect balance to a network of seven horizontal beams for an overall size of 225 x 218 cm plus a depth of 42 cm brought by a quad of elements.
Submarine Christmas Tree had been acquired from the artist by the archaeologist Henri Seyrig and enjoyed for 30 years by his daughter the actress Delphine Seyrig. It was sold for £ 6.6M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 13.
Calder pushes his mobiles to the limit of the impossible. He is an engineer, but his method certainly involves a great deal of empiricism. Nothing should unbalance his structures. When a heavy plaque is dragged down, he simply makes holes to adjust its weight. Black Lace, 160 x 280 cm, made circa 1947, is an example of this process. This mobile was sold for £ 5.2M by Sotheby's on March 8, 2017, lot 28.
In 1945, Alexander Calder looked at the lilies. Not only Lily of Force is one of his most successful mobiles, but it provides the key to the inspiration of the artist.
Lily of Force is a complex wire structure, over 2 meters high, perfectly balanced despite its delicate features. The lilies have found their way up. The movement of the mobile reminds the passage of sunlight in the foliage, with the wonderful effect of nature when leaves never shadow one another.
It is also a bridge between abstraction and figuration in the art of Calder. For another reason, this artwork is highly important. Calder loved Europe and its avant-gardes, Mondrian, Miro. Fleeing the war, he is in the United States in 1945. Lily of Force is a link between Europe slowed by the war and the sudden restart of American creativity : Pollock, Still, Rothko.
Lily of force was sold for $ 18.5M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Christie's on May 8, 2012, lot 33. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Art meets gravitation and fun in the unprecedented three dimensional language of Calder's mobiles.
Submarine Christmas Tree is not a tree because it does not have a trunk or a central stem. This hanging mobile executed in 1947 displays a variety of childish elements that could decorate a Christmas tree, including stars, crescents and a smiling dish.
Eleven hovering forms in silver polished and red painted metal are hanging in a perfect balance to a network of seven horizontal beams for an overall size of 225 x 218 cm plus a depth of 42 cm brought by a quad of elements.
Submarine Christmas Tree had been acquired from the artist by the archaeologist Henri Seyrig and enjoyed for 30 years by his daughter the actress Delphine Seyrig. It was sold for £ 6.6M by Christie's on March 23, 2021, lot 13.
Calder pushes his mobiles to the limit of the impossible. He is an engineer, but his method certainly involves a great deal of empiricism. Nothing should unbalance his structures. When a heavy plaque is dragged down, he simply makes holes to adjust its weight. Black Lace, 160 x 280 cm, made circa 1947, is an example of this process. This mobile was sold for £ 5.2M by Sotheby's on March 8, 2017, lot 28.
1948 Hanging Mobile
2021 SOLD for $ 11.3M by Sotheby's
Around 1948 Alexander Calder manages elegantly curved forms in the structure of his fully balanced hanging mobiles, some of them being kinetic feats.
An untitled mobile made of a suite of ten plates suspended to the ceiling by a single de-centered wire provides an impression of a weightless horizontal figure.
This piece 293 cm long with narrow height and depth was made of unpainted metal elements carefully adjusted in their amorphous shapes. Two of them had needed two holes each to maintain the balance.
This ethereal mobile was sold for $ 11.3M from a lower estimate of $ 4.5M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 111.
An untitled mobile made of a suite of ten plates suspended to the ceiling by a single de-centered wire provides an impression of a weightless horizontal figure.
This piece 293 cm long with narrow height and depth was made of unpainted metal elements carefully adjusted in their amorphous shapes. Two of them had needed two holes each to maintain the balance.
This ethereal mobile was sold for $ 11.3M from a lower estimate of $ 4.5M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 111.
1949 Hanging Mobile
2021 SOLD for $ 19.7M by Sotheby's
A monumental mobile 325 x 427 cm by Calder was sold for $ 19.7M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2021, lot 9. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
It is made of 15 metal elements connected with wire, including an elegant arcing tail. 14 are painted in black and the other one in red.
This untitled piece had been made in 1949 from a private commission for a modernist Brazilian home.
It is made of 15 metal elements connected with wire, including an elegant arcing tail. 14 are painted in black and the other one in red.
This untitled piece had been made in 1949 from a private commission for a modernist Brazilian home.
1951 Mariposa
2020 SOLD for $ 18.2M by Sotheby's
Calder pushes his mobiles to the limit of the impossible. He is an engineer, but his method certainly involves a great deal of empiricism. Nothing should unbalance his structures. When a heavy plaque is dragged down, he simply makes holes to adjust its weight. Black Lace, 160 x 280 cm, made circa 1947, is an example of this process. This mobile was sold for £ 5.2M by Sotheby's on March 8, 2017, lot 28.
A 107 x 213 cm mobile made in 1951 is a feat of aligning the elements around a horizontal plane. It was sold for $ 4.9M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2013.
Made in the same year, Mariposa, 317 x 310 cm, is an opposite feat from the previous example, with a sensational height. The anchor point separates a large plaque from a tree of eighteen small plaques, three of which have been pierced.
The gradual decrease in the elements and their vivid colors may give the idea of a flight of red, white, black and yellow butterflies. This work was purchased directly from Calder by the CEO of the department store Neiman Marcus, whose signature image is the butterfly. Often displayed in the stores, it had remained in the family. It was sold for $ 18.2M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Sotheby's on December 8, 2020, lot 4.
A 107 x 213 cm mobile made in 1951 is a feat of aligning the elements around a horizontal plane. It was sold for $ 4.9M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2013.
Made in the same year, Mariposa, 317 x 310 cm, is an opposite feat from the previous example, with a sensational height. The anchor point separates a large plaque from a tree of eighteen small plaques, three of which have been pierced.
The gradual decrease in the elements and their vivid colors may give the idea of a flight of red, white, black and yellow butterflies. This work was purchased directly from Calder by the CEO of the department store Neiman Marcus, whose signature image is the butterfly. Often displayed in the stores, it had remained in the family. It was sold for $ 18.2M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Sotheby's on December 8, 2020, lot 4.
1952 Fish
2019 SOLD for $ 17.5M by Christie's
Calder's encounter with the fish was a must. The animal moves freely in its aquarium like the leaf of a mobile. Its shape seen by Calder is childishly simple : the lines of the body cross to form the tail.
Around 1942 he hooks two filiform fish as mobiles within a stabile surrounding of water weeds. This composite work 52 cm high was sold for $ 2.53M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2018.
In 1946 he creates for Peggy Guggenheim's personal use a fish mobile which will become a subject of amusement in her cocktail parties.
On May 15, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 17.5M from a lower estimate of $ 12.5M Fish, hanging mobile 39 x 112 cm made by Calder around 1952, lot 14 B. The outline of this nice fish is made of a few metal rods in the style of a child's drawing. The mouth is wide open. The crossing of two rods binds body and tail. The signature of the initials CA of the artist, made in two folded strings, hangs from that place.
In this subtle frame that might seem rudimentary, the artist has positioned an eye and 33 fish scales. An inner circle reinforces the figure of the eye. A piece of broken glass is tied by a string in each cell. Each piece of glass has another shape and the colors are of high diversity. The movement of the mobile changes the shining effect of these colored elements.
Around 1942 he hooks two filiform fish as mobiles within a stabile surrounding of water weeds. This composite work 52 cm high was sold for $ 2.53M by Sotheby's on May 16, 2018.
In 1946 he creates for Peggy Guggenheim's personal use a fish mobile which will become a subject of amusement in her cocktail parties.
On May 15, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 17.5M from a lower estimate of $ 12.5M Fish, hanging mobile 39 x 112 cm made by Calder around 1952, lot 14 B. The outline of this nice fish is made of a few metal rods in the style of a child's drawing. The mouth is wide open. The crossing of two rods binds body and tail. The signature of the initials CA of the artist, made in two folded strings, hangs from that place.
In this subtle frame that might seem rudimentary, the artist has positioned an eye and 33 fish scales. An inner circle reinforces the figure of the eye. A piece of broken glass is tied by a string in each cell. Each piece of glass has another shape and the colors are of high diversity. The movement of the mobile changes the shining effect of these colored elements.
1953 21 Feuilles blanches
2018 SOLD for $ 18M by Christie's
A hanging mobile 150 x 204 x 89 cm executed by Calder in 1953 is made of 21 metal elements, all painted in a resplendent pure white. The difference with the Snow Flurry is the varied shape of the plates.
This mobile 150 x 205 x 89 cm was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 15, 2018, lot 5C.
This mobile 150 x 205 x 89 cm was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 15, 2018, lot 5C.
1957 Poisson Volant
2014 SOLD for $ 26M by Christie's
Around 1952 Calder simulates the fish scales in many colors by tiny pieces of glass which he hangs in a structure of rods and strings. This mobile 112 cm long which is perfectly balanced under a single string was sold for $ 17.5M by Christie's on May 15, 2019.
With The Fish in 1957, 175 cm long hanging by three wires, sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 9 B, the metal plaques of the fins form a rudder.
Poisson volant, also created in 1957, is resolutely funny. A ravenous fish in black painted metal has its mouth wide open to swallow a prey that floats in the air in front of it. The fish consists of a bulky plaque for the body and of the tail which is a mobile in fifteen elements under three branches.
This hanging group 226 cm long achieves its incredible balance with two strings at the muzzle and one at the middle of the back. It was sold for $ 26M by Christie's on May 13, 2014 from a lower estimate of $ 9M, lot 8. I invite you to turn around this mobile with the video prepared by the auction house.
With The Fish in 1957, 175 cm long hanging by three wires, sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 9 B, the metal plaques of the fins form a rudder.
Poisson volant, also created in 1957, is resolutely funny. A ravenous fish in black painted metal has its mouth wide open to swallow a prey that floats in the air in front of it. The fish consists of a bulky plaque for the body and of the tail which is a mobile in fifteen elements under three branches.
This hanging group 226 cm long achieves its incredible balance with two strings at the muzzle and one at the middle of the back. It was sold for $ 26M by Christie's on May 13, 2014 from a lower estimate of $ 9M, lot 8. I invite you to turn around this mobile with the video prepared by the auction house.
1959 39=50
2022 SOLD for $ 15.6M by Phillips
In 1959 Alexander Calder had prepared an untitled hanging mobile of 39 white discs on the model of the Snow Flurry.
Two years later, a friend requested a piece of 50 elements for celebrating the 50th anniversary of his wife. Sandy did not have it ready. He chose to supply the 39 disc mobile instead. With his usual delicacy and humor, he titled it 39=50, rejuvenating the lady by that way.
This cascade of snow 120 x 260 cm was sold for $ 15.6M from a lower estimate of $ 10.5M by Phillips on May 18, 2022, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Two years later, a friend requested a piece of 50 elements for celebrating the 50th anniversary of his wife. Sandy did not have it ready. He chose to supply the 39 disc mobile instead. With his usual delicacy and humor, he titled it 39=50, rejuvenating the lady by that way.
This cascade of snow 120 x 260 cm was sold for $ 15.6M from a lower estimate of $ 10.5M by Phillips on May 18, 2022, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1962 Blue Moon
2024 SOLD for $ 14.4M by Sotheby's
An engineer and a complete artist, Alexander Calder incorporated the motion in the art of sculpture. He also desired to add sound. He early experimented on including a percussive gong and its mallet in mobiles. It was not music of course but the chance noise related to the air flux delighted him. Bertoia will begin his Sonambient sound sculptures ca 1960.
The culmination of Calder's sound work is the suspended mobile Blue Moon in 1962 and the standing mobile Chef d'Orchestre in 1964.
The monumental Blue Moon spanning 152 x 760 cm is the largest full scale hanging sound mobile by Calder. It was made of painted metal sheets for a solo exhibition at Tate Gallery.
The sound branch is made successively with the yellow brass gong, the wire mallet, a red full moon, a blue moon crescent, a red moon crescent ans a terminal element. The balancing branch has six black elements.
Blue Moon was sold for $ 14.4M from a lower estimate of $ 7M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2024, lot 3. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The culmination of Calder's sound work is the suspended mobile Blue Moon in 1962 and the standing mobile Chef d'Orchestre in 1964.
The monumental Blue Moon spanning 152 x 760 cm is the largest full scale hanging sound mobile by Calder. It was made of painted metal sheets for a solo exhibition at Tate Gallery.
The sound branch is made successively with the yellow brass gong, the wire mallet, a red full moon, a blue moon crescent, a red moon crescent ans a terminal element. The balancing branch has six black elements.
Blue Moon was sold for $ 14.4M from a lower estimate of $ 7M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2024, lot 3. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
