Alexander Calder

American, 1898 - 1976

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Alexander Calder, Flying Colors, 1976, color lithograph on wove paper, Gift of the Employees of Braniff Airways, Inc., 1976.55.1

Flying Colors

Alexander Calder · 1976 · color lithograph on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1976.55.1

Alexander Calder, Les flèches, 1976, sheet metal and paint, Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.7.15

Les flèches

Alexander Calder · 1976 · sheet metal and paint ·  Accession ID  1991.7.15

Six black, wedgelike shapes, one dark blue arrowhead shape, and six red triangular shapes with rounded corners are connected with thin rods to form this abstract sculpture. In this photograph, we look up at the piece to where it hangs from the glass ceiling of a light-filled interior space with marble walls. The paddle-like shapes are attached to the end of the curved rods, which are linked together like branches. In our view, the black arm curves up across the top of the picture and the red arm curves down into the lower right corner, and to our left. Each red paddle is smaller as they move from the central armature to the end of the branch.
Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1976, aluminum and steel, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 1977.76.1

Untitled

Alexander Calder · 1976 · aluminum and steel ·  Accession ID  1977.76.1

Alexander Calder, Smithsonian Institution, Crossroads, 1976, color screenprint on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Janet Solinger), 2015.19.3009

Crossroads

Alexander Calder, Smithsonian Institution · 1976 · color screenprint on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.3009

Alexander Calder, Arctic Sunset, 1973, red, yellow, and blue gouache and black ink on wove paper, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1996.120.1

Arctic Sunset

Alexander Calder · 1973 · red, yellow, and blue gouache and black ink on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1996.120.1

Alexander Calder, Model for East Building Mobile, 1972, aluminum, wire, and paint, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 1975.114.1

Model for East Building Mobile

Alexander Calder · 1972 · aluminum, wire, and paint ·  Accession ID  1975.114.1

Three flat metal sheets cut into different shapes and each in a single color—black, red, or blue—make up this free-standing, abstract sculpture. This photograph shows the piece in a lobby space, and the top of the sculpture nearly touches the ceiling. At the center of the sculpture, a black, tall form like a backward-facing lowercase h is topped with a triangle reminiscent of an arrow. The short leg of the h faces our left in this photograph and is angled slightly toward us. To our left and affixed to the back side of the black arrow, a red form arches from near the arrowhead to the ground to create an empty space below. Seen only from the narrow edge in this photograph, another red piece arches back and away from us, down to the floor. Whereas one could conceivably walk or crawl under the black and red arches, the third blue piece to our right is a mostly solid sheet. It is attached to the center of the wide side of the arrow, facing us, and it moves toward us at an angle to our right. A rounded triangular form is cut out of the blue sheet near the upper right.
Alexander Calder, Obus, 1972, painted sheet metal, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983.1.49

Obus

Alexander Calder · 1972 · painted sheet metal ·  Accession ID  1983.1.49

Alexander Calder, Crinkly Worm, 1971, sheet metal and paint, Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.7.10

Crinkly Worm

Alexander Calder · 1971 · sheet metal and paint ·  Accession ID  1991.7.10

Alexander Calder, Blue and Red Bull with Yellow Head, 1971, sheet metal and paint, Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.7.12

Blue and Red Bull with Yellow Head

Alexander Calder · 1971 · sheet metal and paint ·  Accession ID  1991.7.12

Alexander Calder, Laddered Balloons, 1971, brush and black ink with gouache on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Gift of William H. G. FitzGerald, Desmond FitzGerald, and B. Francis Saul II), 2015.19.2711

Laddered Balloons

Alexander Calder · 1971 · brush and black ink with gouache on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.2711