Alexander Calder
( American, 1898 - 1976 )
The Circus, 1975
Inventory # 51783
| Original color lithograph on wove paper. Hand signed by the artist "Calder" in pencil, lower right. Numbered "32/125" in pencil, lower left. An impression from the edition of 125. In excellent condition, framed with museum quality conservation materials.
Sheet size: 26" x 38"; framed size: 40" x 51 1/2". In his autobiography, Calder writes about his obsession with the circus. One time he attended the circus for two weeks straight, staying almost all day and night. After a few days, Calder knew based on the music what act would be presented next and would hurry to the precise spot where he felt he could best see the show. He said some acts were better observed from up high, others from on the ground. Throughout his career, Calder represented scenes from the circus in both two and three dimensions; his most famous being moving wire sculptures called "Cirque Calder" which he first performed in Paris in the fall of 1926. |