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Alexander Calder

(American, 1898–1976)

Alexander Calder

Stabile Noir, 1959

Alexander Calder

Untitled - Blue Sun, ca. 1965

Biography

Timeline

1898: Born: in Philadelphia, PA
1909: Parents provide him with a workshop at age eleven
1919: Graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ
Worked as engineer at logging camp in Washington state
1923: Moved to New York, NY and attended Art Students League
Worked as illustrator for newspapers and advertisers
1925: Employed at Central Park Zoo and Bronx Zoo, New York, NY
1926: Attended Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris, France
1931: Settled in Paris, France
1933: Moved back to the U.S. and buys house in Roxbury, CT
1939: Commissioned to make mobile installed in main stairwell of Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
1949: Constructed largest mobile to date, hung over main stairwell of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1952: Awarded grand prize for sculpture, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
1957 - 1958: Received several commissions for large-scale public sculpture, including a mobile for JFK Airport commissioned by Port Authority of New York and a stabile for UNESCO Paris headquarters
1967 - 1968: Sculpture commissions for Expo ’67 in Montreal and 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City
1976: Died: in New York, NY

Exhibitions

2013: Artistic Relationships: Partners, Mentors, Lovers - Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Charlotte, NC
Dynamo Un Siecle De Lumiere Et De Mouvement Dans L’art 1913-2013 - Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris
Puppet Show - Eastside Projects, Birmingham (England)
In the Library - The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
fun house - Richard Gray Gallery - New York, New York City, NY
2012: The Complete Bronzes - L&M Arts, New York, New York City, NY
Calder Noir - Kukje Gallery, Seoul
Alexander Calder - Crane Kalman Gallery, London (England)
Alexander Calder - Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague
Building the Collection: Art Acquired in the 1990s - Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
2011: Alexander Calder: The Painter - Helly Nahmad Gallery, London (England)
Alexander Calder: 1941 - The Pace Gallery - 32 East 57th Street, New York City, NY
Alexander Calder: Gouaches - Pace Prints, New York City, NY
Calder - Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
Calder's Portraits: A New Language - The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
2010: Alexander Calder - Galería Elvira González, Madrid
Calder Jewelry - GRAM - Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
Retrospective - Zadok Art Gallery, Miami, FL
Alexander Calder - Van de Weghe Fine Art, New York City, NY
2009: Alexander Calder: Printmaker - Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
Alexander Calder - Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
Alexander Calder - Monumental Sculpture - Gagosian Gallery, Rome
Alexander Calder - Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, WA
Alexander Calder: 1969 The Fortieth Anniversary of La Grande vitesse - Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI
2008: Alexander Calder: Gouaches, Ricco Maresca Gallery, New York City, NY (solo)
Alexander Calder Jewlery, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL (solo)
2007: Focus: Alexander Calder, MoMA - Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY (solo)
2006: The Surreal Calder, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art , San Francisco, CA; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN (solo)
Calder in Brazil, Paco Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (solo)
I Think Best in Wire: Alexander Calder, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (solo)
Calder Gouaches: 1942-1976, PaceWildenstein, New York, NY (solo)
Calder: From Model to Monument, PaceWildenstein, New York, NY (solo)
2005: Alexander Calder: Two Monumental Sculptures, Gagosian Gallery, New York., NY (solo)
Alexander Calder, Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery, Knokke-Heist, Belgium (solo)
2004: Alexander Calder, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (solo)
Calder: Gravedad y la Gracia, Museo Nacional - Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain (solo)
2003: Calder: Gravedad y la Gracia, Fundacion del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain (solo)
Alexander Calder, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA (solo)
2002: Calder '76: The Cutouts, PaceWildenstein, New York, NY (solo)
Alexander Calder: Motion and Color, Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan (solo)
Calder: Four Maquettes, Two Stabiles and a Little Bird Too, Ameringer Fine Arts, New York, NY (solo)
2001: Alexander Calder: Motion and Color, Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan (solo)
Alexander Calder in Focus, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (solo)
2000: Earthly Forms: The Biomorphic Sculpture of Arp, Calder and Noguchi, PaceWildenstein, New York, NY
1999: An Adventurous Spirit: Calder at The Phillips Collection, Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C (solo)
Alexander Calder, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (solo)
1998: Alexander Calder: 1898-1976, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and SF MoMA (solo)
Flying Colors: The Innovation and Artistry of Alexander Calder, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose , CA (solo)
1996: Alexander Calder: 1898-1976, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France (solo)
Celebrating Calder, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (solo)
1994: Calder, Bibliotheque Municipale and Abbaye Saint-Germain, Auxerre, France (solo)
Calder Gallery Installation, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (solo)
1993: Alexander Calder from the Collection of the Ruth and Leonard J. Horwich Family, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (solo)
1992: Celebrating Calder, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (solo)
Alexander Calder, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (solo)
1989: The Intimate World of Alexander Calder, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, New York, NY; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN (solo)
1987: Alexander Calder: Sculptures of the Nineteen Thirties, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (solo)
1984: Calder, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela (solo)
Des Stabiles et des Mobiles de Calder, Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (solo)
1982: Tapices de Alexander Calder, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico (solo)
1981: Alexander Calder: A Concentration of Works from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (solo)
1978: Images de Calder, Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (solo)
Calder's Universe, San Jose Museum of Art, CA; Portland Art Museum, OR; Phoenix Art Museum, AZ (solo)
1977: Alexander Calder Memorial, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY (solo)
Calder's Universe, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; High Art Musuem, Atlanta, GA (solo)
1976: Calder, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA (solo)
Retrospective, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (solo)
1963: Calder gouache show, Perls Gallery, New York (solo)
Retrospective, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY (solo)
1962: Retrospective, Tate Gallery, London, UK
1950: Galerie Maeght, Paris, France (solo)
Retrospective, Masachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (solo)
1943: Retrospective, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (solo)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA (solo)
1932: Julien Levy Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
1929: Galerie Billiet, Paris, France (solo)
1928: Weyhe Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
1926: Artist's Gallery, New York, NY

Public Collections

: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy
: Dallas Museum of Art, TX
: Indianapolis Museum of Art, IN
: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
: Reina Sofía National Museum, Madrid, Spain
: Tate Gallery, London, UK
: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York , NY
: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
: Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C
: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
: Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
: Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

Literature

2005: Rosenthal, Mark, and Alexander S. C. Rower. The Surreal Calder. Houston, TX: The Menil Collection, 2005
1998: Guerrero, Pedro E. Calder at Home. The Joyous Environment of Alexander Calder. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1998
Prather, Marla. Alexander Calder 1898 - 1976. Washington D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1998
1966: Calder, Alexander. An Autobiography With Pictures. New York: Pantheon Books, 1966