- 104
Alexander Calder
Estimate
800,000 - 1,200,000 USD
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Description
- Alexander Calder
- Untitled
- incised I, II and III respectively on the black elements
- painted metal and wire
- 45 1/2 by 36 by 14 in. 115.6 by 91.4 by 35.6 cm.
- Executed circa 1940, this work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A08723.
Provenance
Jean and Jean Blair Hélion, Paris and Rockbridge Baths, Virginia (gift of the artist circa 1940)
Private Collection, Virginia (by descent from the above in 1945)
Gift to the present owner from the above
Private Collection, Virginia (by descent from the above in 1945)
Gift to the present owner from the above
Condition
This work is in very good and sound condition overall. There is evidence of wear and handling to the elements, resulting in small paint losses to the edges of the elements and slight discoloration in spots to the paint color. Close inspection reveals that the black structure and black elements exhibit spots of oxidation in the loops and crevices.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Inspired by the atmosphere in Mondrian’s studio and through the innovative, unconventional use of materials, Calder conceived works that could activate their environment with unpredictable entities such as sound, movement, chance, and anticipation. Taking his experimentation with movement one step further, Calder made percussive pieces that when set into motion clang, conjuring into space not a tangible representation of an object, but the disquieting experience of sound and anticipation.
Calder first experimented with sound-making sculpture in the early 1930s, creating works of non-traditional materials, where cymbals, glass bottles and tin cans reverberated with sound when set into dynamic motion. It can be seen from a photograph of Calder’s studio in 1933 the variety of sound making objects with which he was working: tins cans, gongs and standing mobiles with bell shaped elements. In the foreground of this image are five tin cans suspended from a string for which Calder wrote, revealing his ever whimsical, humorous persona:
Calder first experimented with sound-making sculpture in the early 1930s, creating works of non-traditional materials, where cymbals, glass bottles and tin cans reverberated with sound when set into dynamic motion. It can be seen from a photograph of Calder’s studio in 1933 the variety of sound making objects with which he was working: tins cans, gongs and standing mobiles with bell shaped elements. In the foreground of this image are five tin cans suspended from a string for which Calder wrote, revealing his ever whimsical, humorous persona:
this was the “music” – Varèse
liked ballet (but not “music”)
I called it “A Merry Can
Ballet”
The present work, Untitled, circa 1940 is a culmination of this ten year experimentation with sound, a fully realized, large scale standing mobile which in addition to its balance and movement collides to make “music”, a cacophony of sound, movement and color.
Calder’s legacy with music and sound-making sculptures continued throughout the following decades of his career. The 1950s and 1960s, brought the creation of the elaborate, large scale Gong mobiles which included small metallic hammers that strike the metal plates at random when the mobile moves, further focusing on this aural dimension.