CALDER, Alexander, Les Vagues (The Waves), 1975
Alexander Calder was born July 22, 1898, in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of artists. In 1919, he received an engineering degree from Steven… [Read biography »]
Signed Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976), Hand-Woven 100% Wool Calder Tapestry, Les Vagues (The Waves), 1975  |
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| Artist: | Calder, Alexander (1898 - 1976) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Les Vagues (The Waves), 1975 |
| Medium: | Hand-Woven 100% Wool Calder Tapestry |
| Image Size: | 59 1/4 in x 40 in (150.5 cm x 101.6 cm) |
| Signed: | Hand woven 'Calder' in black in lower right recto just above the Pinton Frères (PF) monogram symbol |
| Edition: | Catalogued and registered by the Calder Foundation, NY with archive no. A10076.004 as edition no. 4 out of 200 from the Revolution Series. Label on verso reads: ‘D’Après le carton de CALDER | Tapisserie d’Aubusson | Tis |
| Condition: | This work is in very good condition with bold, bright colors |
Price :Item# 2172 | $12,500 (BUY $100,000 IN FINE ART AND GET $100,000 IN FINE ART FREE!!!) To speak directly with the Director, Alex Adelman, please call (510) 777-9970 / 1-800-805-7060. |
| Description: | |
Created in 1975, this 100% wool, hand-woven tapestry is based on an original work by Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976). Catalogued and registered by the Calder Foundation, NY with archive no. A10076.004 as edition no. 4 out of 200 from the Revolution Series. Having published a number of his works through the atelier Aubusson, these tapestries became a highly coveted and well known medium through which to admire Calder’s creations. Les Vagues features Calder’s signature in black, woven in the lower right just above the Atelier Pinton Frères (PF) symbol. A label has been basted into the verso of the tapestry in the lower left, detailing its dimensions and its origins at the Tapisserie d’Aubusson and the Atelier Pinton; Alexander Calder’s handwritten initials (AC) also appears on the label. According to J. Lipman (1980), “Calder’s tapestries are closely related to his gouaches, but they are much larger and often more complex in design. As in all his work the compositions are deceptively casual and have the same playful element that enlivens even the most powerful of his abstractions. The tapestry medium – like lithography and large-scale sculpture – is an example of the successful collaboration with skilled craftsmen that has characterized Calder’s later years. The weaver follows Calder’s forms exactly but improvises to vary the weaves and textures in a free interpretation of the overall design. The tapestries are fresh works of art in their own right, blending the inventiveness of the artist with that of the weavers” (157). Catalogue Raisonné & COA: 1. Lipman, J. (1980). Calder’s Universe. Wolfe, R. (Ed.). Harrison House: New York. A detailed chapter, “Tapestries and Rugs” mentions Calder’s textiles and his technique on pgs. 157-169. 2. Catalogued and registered by the Calder Foundation, NY with archive no. A10076.004. 3. A Masterworks COA will be included with the sale of this work. | |
Biography of Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976)
Alexander Calder was born July 22, 1898, in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of artists. In 1919, he received an engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken. Calder attended the Art Students League, New York, from 1923 to 1926, studying briefly with Thomas Hart Benton and John Sloan, among others. As a freelance artist for the National Police Gazette in 1925, he spent two weeks sketching at the circus; his fascination with the subject dates from this time. He also made his first sculpture in 1925; the following year he made several constructions of animals and figures with wire and wood. The first exhibition of Calder paintings took place in 1926 at the Artist’s Gallery, New York. Later that year, he went to Paris and attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In Paris, he met Stanley William Hayter, exhibited at the 1926 Salon des Indépendants, and in 1927 began giving performances of his miniature circus. The first show of his wire animals and caricature portraits was held at the Weyhe Gallery, New York, in 1928. That same year, he met Joan Miró, who became his lifelong friend. Subsequently, Calder divided his time between France and the United States. In 1929, the Galerie Billiet gave him his first solo show in Paris. He met Frederick Kiesler, Fernand Léger, and Theo van Doesburg and visited Piet Mondrian’s studio in 1930. Calder began to experiment with abstract sculpture at this time and in 1931 and 1932 introduced moving parts into his work. These moving sculptures were called “mobiles”; the stationary constructions were to be named “stabiles.” He exhibited with the Abstraction-Création group in Paris in 1933. In 1943, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, gave him a solo exhibition.
During the 1950s, Calder traveled widely and executed Towers (wall mobiles) and Gongs (sound mobiles). He won the Grand Prize for Sculpture at the 1952 Venice Biennale. Late in the decade, Calder worked extensively with gouache; from this period, he executed numerous major public commissions. In 1964–65, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, presented a Calder retrospective. He began the Totems in 1966 and the Animobiles in 1971; both are variations on the standing mobile. A Calder exhibition was held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 1976. Calder died November 11, 1976, in New York.
