Calder Foundation

Excavation

Date c. 1924
Media
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
36" × 29 7⁄8"
Collection
Calder Foundation, New York
Works / Oil Painting 82
Related Timeline
1898–1925 Early Development

Alexander Calder created works of art throughout his childhood. In his twenties, he moved to New York and studied at the Art Students League. He worked concurrently at the National Police Gazette, illustrating sporting events and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and he made hundreds of brush drawings of animals at the Bronx and Central Park zoos. During this period, he commonly used sheet metal and wire for other projects.