Alexander Calder 1898–1976
Born in 1898 to Nanette Lederer Calder and Alexander Stirling Calder, a painter and a sculptor respectively, Alexander Calder was encouraged to be creative and make things by hand. As a child he made gifts for his family and jewelry for his sister’s dolls. In 1915, Calder attended Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey graduating in 1919 with a degree in mechanical engineering because his parents didn’t want him to struggle as an artist. After completing school, Calder work a myriad of jobs including draftsman for Edison Company, a staff member at Lumber magazine, coloring maps for a hydraulics engineer and timekeeper for a logging camp.
In the spring of 1922 Calder attended night classes in drawing and the following year he decides to pursue a career as a painter. By 1925 Calder had his first art exhibition and in 1926 he made his first sculptures out of wood and wire. Calder relocated to Paris, socializing with the Parisian avant-garde, and started making mechanical toys and abstract sculptures. His kinetic works, a departure from traditional sculpture, became known as ‘mobiles’, a term coined by Marcel Duchamp.
Calder’s artistic endeavors ranged from mobiles to stabiles (static sculptures) both small and large, to jewelry and paintings. Today his works can be found in numerous museum collections around the world including The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Auction Results Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
light fixture for Léonie and Geddes Parsons
estimate: $100,000–150,000
result: $233,000
Alexander Calder
Untitled
estimate: $50,000–70,000
result: $112,500
Alexander Calder
Jeux de l'Oie
estimate: $30,000–50,000
result: $100,900
Alexander Calder
Malaga
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $69,600
Alexander Calder
Kakémono
estimate: $30,000–50,000
result: $68,750
Alexander Calder
Pour Tito
estimate: $40,000–50,000
result: $60,000
Alexander Calder
The Snag
estimate: $30,000–40,000
result: $54,280
Alexander Calder
The Hand of Fatima
estimate: $30,000–50,000
result: $47,500
Alexander Calder
Red and Blue Moon
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $30,000
Alexander Calder 1898-1976
Little Miss Pocket
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $30,000
Alexander Calder
buckle
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $25,000
Alexander Calder
Our Unfinished Revolution (complete portfolio of ten works)
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $22,500