Alexander Calder

The sculpture is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A25094.  The drawing is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A25121.

Gilbert W. and Elizabeth Fuller Chapman, New York (acquired directly form the artist)
Phillips, New York, March 3, 1981
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work is in very good condition overall. There are faint areas of pigment ware to the painted red aluminum surface. There is surface soiling and staining, likely on account of age. There are some areas of uneven pigmentation likely due to the artist's working method.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The most famous and frequently-quoted definition of mobiles appears in the preface written by Jean-Paul Sartre to the catalogue for the exhibition of Calder's mobiles held at Galerie Louis Carré in late 1946.  The great philosopher is in a reflective mood, informing the sculptor's creations with his own world-view, forcing an existentialist language into the argument:

A mobile, one might say, is a little private celebration, an object defined by its movement and having no other existence.  It is a flower that fades when it ceases to move, a pure play of movement in the sense that we speak of a pure play of light....

A mobile does not suggest anything: it captures genuine living movements and shapes them.  Mobiles have no meaning, make you think of nothing but themselves.  They are, that is all; they are absolutes.  No human brain, not even their creator's, could possibly foresee all the complex combinations of which they are capable.  A general destiny of movement is sketched for them, and then they are left to work it out for themselves.

The works were assembled in Calder's Roxbury, Connecticut studio.  He explained that 'the plans called for small sculptures that could be sent by mail....Rods, plates, everything was made in two or three pieces and could be taken apart and folded in a little package.  I sent drawings along showing how to reassemble the pieces.'

The intimacy implied by Sartre's remark 'a little private celebration' certainly applies to this work; it is as if it is designed so only one person can experience it intimately, though it still manages to project an immense visual impact.