Vertical Constellation with Bomb

1943

Alexander Calder

Sculptor, American, 1898 - 1976

This sculpture is made up of ten shapes connected with rigid, straight brown wire to create an interlocking, web-like formation that rests on the floor. Five of the shapes appear to be raw wood and the other five are painted. Four of the painted shapes are dark gray. The fifth painted piece, at the upper left in this photograph, has a wooden cone-shaped tip pointing downward beneath a black and white mid-section, and an angular, hourglass-shaped tail painted in triangular blocks of red, blue, and black. The other wooden and painted shapes range in size and form, with an almond-shaped piece at the center, rounded pieces throughout, and two rounded hour-glass shaped pieces near the upper left.
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Alexander Calder’s interest in astronomy and the cosmos led him to create a series of delicate works he called Constellations. This is the most complex one. His uncharacteristic use of wood was due to the scarcity of scrap metal during World War II. The colorful “bomb” also refers to war. Unlike his suspended mobiles, which drift slowly through space, Calder’s Constellations do not move, yet their organic shapes cast shadows that shift with the light. The appearance of these open, linear structures constantly alters as we move past them.

On View

East Building Tower Level, Gallery 606

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    wire, wood, and paint

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls

  • Dimensions

    overall: 77.5 x 75.6 x 61 cm (30 1/2 x 29 3/4 x 24 in.)

  • Accession

    1996.120.8

  • Copyright

    © 2000 Estate of Alexander Calder / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist; acquired 1974 by Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, New York; gift 1996 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1943

  • Alexander Calder, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1943, no. 83.

1997

  • Alexander Calder: The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1997, no. 11, color repro. and cover.

1998

  • Alexander Calder: 1898-1976, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1998, no. 177, color repro.

2000

  • Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2000-2001, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2017

  • Calder: Constellations, Pace Gallery, New York, 2017, pl. 19.

Bibliography

1997

  • Alexander Calder: The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997: no. 11.

1998

  • Alexander Calder: 1898-1976. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1998: no. 177.

Inscriptions

on largest triangular center element in monogram: CA

Wikidata ID

Q63860626

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