Past Exhibition

Alexander Calder 1898-1976

Two disks, one black and one white, and ten smaller red disks hang from eleven red wire branches in this free-floating sculpture, called a mobile. The uppermost branch ends with the white disk jutting out to our right, and the next ends with the black disk, projecting out and slightly up to our left. The red disks cluster in a loose line below, some higher and some drooping down. The mobile is suspended with an unseen filament in a white room in this photograph.
Alexander Calder, Black, White, and Ten Red, 1957, sheet metal, wire, and paint, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1996.120.3

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    East Building, Upper Level and Mezzanine, Northeast, and Upper Level, North Bridge, and Outdoors
Two disks, one black and one white, and ten smaller red disks hang from eleven red wire branches in this free-floating sculpture, called a mobile. The uppermost branch ends with the white disk jutting out to our right, and the next ends with the black disk, projecting out and slightly up to our left. The red disks cluster in a loose line below, some higher and some drooping down. The mobile is suspended with an unseen filament in a white room in this photograph.
Alexander Calder, Black, White, and Ten Red, 1957, sheet metal, wire, and paint, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1996.120.3

Overview: The exhibition, which marked the centennial of the sculptor's birth, was the first major retrospective of Calder's work in the United States since his death in 1976. 198 sculptures, 5 related paintings, 24 items of jewelry, 31 works on paper, and 2 toys were presented. 3 monumental sculptures were displayed outside the East Building.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art. The curator was Marla Prather, curator and head of the department of 20th-century art.

Sponsor: The exhibition was made possible by GTE Corporation. United Airlines was the official carrier for the exhibition.

Attendance: 288,709

Catalog: Alexander Calder 1898-1976, by Marla Prather, chronology by Alexander S.C. Rower. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1998.

Brochure: Alexander Calder 1898-1976, by Isabelle Dervaux. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1998
Children's Guide: Alexander Calder 1898-1976, by Heidi Hinish. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1998.

Other Venues: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

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