Skip to Main Content

Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1976, aluminum and steel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Collectors Committee

Untitled, Calder (ASL)

After studying scale models of the Gallery’s East Building before it was complete, Calder composed the original maquette, or small three-dimensional model, of this mobile. Starting with the bottom arm and working progressively upward, he established the centering for each part before attaching it to the next higher, unfinished section. Once the model was complete, it was enlarged to 32 times its original size and was constructed from aluminum.

09/30/16