Sheet metal, brass, wire, and paint, 3 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 1 1/2 in., Promised gift of Jon and Mary Shirley, photo: Nicholas Shirley, Brightwood Photos.
Calder created dozens of small sculptures, which demonstrate his intuitive sense of scale for the miniature as his public stabiles do for the monumental. The majority of the small pieces in this collection were not intended as maquettes or designs for larger sculptures, but rather as independent artworks.
Crinkly Black and Red allows for a more intimate understanding of the artist’s hand while exploring many of the shapes and ideas—such as circles, asymmetry, suspended rods, triangles, and sense of balance—seen in his larger artworks. Created at a time when Calder was achieving global renown for his large-scale public stabiles, which had to be made in industrial ironworks under the artist’s supervision, this sculpture commands the viewer’s attention with its intricate details and personal quality. For example, the rough, uneven texture of the brass wire with his carved initials highlights Calder’s use of basic hand tools with no automation. The bent geometrical base foreshadows Calder’s Crinklies of the late 1960s and early 1970s, one of which, Crinkly Crocodile, is featured in this collection.
Squarish, 1970
Acquired 1988
Tamanoir jaune, 1963
Acquired 1989
Yellow Stalk with Stone, 1953
Acquired 1990
Gamma, 1947
Acquired 1992
Derriere le Miroir, No. 31, 1950
Acquired 1992
Bougainvillier, 1947
Acquired 1995
JS key ring, ca. 1955
Acquired 1995
Black, White, Yellow and Brass on Red, 1959
Acquired 1995
Vache, ca. 1930
Acquired 1997
Untitled, 1970
Acquired 1997
Red Curly Tail, 1970
Acquired 1997
Untitled, ca. 1953
Acquired 1997
Untitled, ca. 1938
Acquired 1998
Jonah and the Whale, ca. 1940
Acquired 1998
Rock, 1945
Acquired 1998
Untitled, ca. 1948
Acquired 1998
Two White Dots, 1973
Acquired 1998
Untitled, ca. 1948
Acquired 1999
Crinkly Crocodile, 1971
Acquired 1999
Little Yellow Panel, ca. 1936
Acquired 1999
Dispersed Objects with Brass Gong, 1948
Acquired 1999
Polychrome Dots and Brass on Red, 1964
Acquired 1999
Untitled, 1947
Acquired 1999
Grasshopper, ca. 1952
Acquired 1999
Untitled, 1947
Acquired 2000
Bird, 1968
Acquired 2000
Crinkly Red and Black, 1964
Acquired 2001
Untitled (Métaboles), 1969
Acquired 2002
Toile d’araignee, 1965
Acquired 2002
Moons and Waves, 1963
Acquired 2002
Animated Coat Hanger, 1927
Acquired 2003
Untitled, 1952
Acquired 2003
Untitled (maquette), ca. 1960
Acquired 2004
Fables of Aesop: According to Sir Roger
L’Estrange, 1931, 1964
Acquired 2005
Untitled (Man on Ladder with Troupers), 1931/1964
Acquired 2007
Untitled (Juggler with Dog), 1931/1964
Acquired 2007
Untitled (Jongleurs), 1931/1964
Acquired 2007
Untitled (The Catch I), 1931/1964
Acquired 2007
Untitled (Men Pursuading Elephant), 1931/1964
Acquired 2007
Untitled (Man on Ladder), 1932/1964
Acquired 2007
Untitled (Tightrope and Animals), 1932/1964
Acquired 2007
Fish, 1942
Acquired 2011
Untitled, 1968
Acquired 2012
Constellation with Red Knife, 1943
Acquired 2013
Untitled, 1936
Acquired 2015
Untitled, ca. 1950
Acquired 2015
Untitled, 1956
Acquired 2015
Untitled, 1960
Acquired 2015
Untitled, ca. 1956
Acquired 2016
Rat, 1948
Acquired 2016
Bird, ca. 1940
Acquired 2019
Untitled, ca. 1942
Acquired 2021
The Yellow Disc, 1958
Acquired 2022
Femme assise, ca. 1929
Acquired 2022