Calder Foundation

International Mobile

Date 1949
Media
Sheet metal, rod, wire, and paint
Dimensions
approx. 240" × 240"
Collection
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Gift of John & Dominique de Menil in memory of Marcel Schlumberger (no. 62.46)
Historical Photos  3
Related exhibitions  4
New Gallery, Charles Hayden Memorial Library, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (1950)

New Gallery, Charles Hayden Memorial Library, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Calder. 5 December 1950–14 January 1951.

Solo Exhibition
Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate Gallery, London (1962)

Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate Gallery, London. Alexander Calder: Sculpture–Mobiles. 4 July–12 August 1962.

Solo Exhibition
Palazzo a Vela, Turin, Italy (1983)

Palazzo a Vela, Turin, Italy. Calder: Mostra retrospettiva. 2 July–25 September 1983.

Solo Exhibition
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1998)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Alexander Calder: 1898–1976. 29 March–12 July 1998.

Solo Exhibition
Chronology  1
15 May–11 September 1949

Calder constructs his most ambitious mobile to date, International Mobile, for the Third International Exhibition of Sculpture, Philadelphia Museum of Art in collaboration with the Fairmount Park Art Association.

Works / Hanging Mobile 167
Related Timeline
1946–1952 International Distinction

Calder had a major show in 1946 at Galerie Louis Carré in Paris for which Jean-Paul Sartre wrote a seminal essay. He designed sets and costumes for a number of theatrical performances and designed a huge acoustic ceiling for the Aula Magna auditorium at Universidad Central de Venezuela. In 1952, Calder represented the United States at the Venice Biennale, winning the grand prize for sculpture.