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Snake and the Cross, 1936

Work
Snake and the Cross (1936)
Snake and the Cross (1936)

Snake and the Cross

Date 1936
Media
Sheet metal, wood, rod, wire, string, and paint
Dimensions
81" × 51" × 44"
Collection
Calder Foundation, New York
Panel / Frame, Wall Sculpture
Historical Photos  9
Frame for Snake and the Cross in an earlier configuration (1936)
Frame for Snake and the Cross in an earlier configuration, New York City storefront studio, 1936Photograph by Herbert Matter © Calder Foundation, New York
Frame for Snake and the Cross in an earlier configuration, New York City storefront studio, 1936
Photograph by Herbert Matter
Calder with the frame for Snake and the Cross (1936)
Calder with the frame for Snake and the Cross, New York City storefront studio, 1936Photograph by Herbert Matter © Calder Foundation, New York
Calder with the frame for Snake and the Cross, New York City storefront studio, 1936
Photograph by Herbert Matter
Snake and the Cross (1937)
Installation photograph showing Snake and the Cross (1936), Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1937Photograph by Herbert Matter © Calder Foundation, New York
Installation photograph showing Snake and the Cross (1936), Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1937
Photograph by Herbert Matter
Inventory drawing for Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles (1937)
Inventory drawing of 27 objects considered for inclusion in Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1937Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
Inventory drawing of 27 objects considered for inclusion in Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1937Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
Recto of double-sided installation drawing of 33 objects in Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles (1937)
Recto of double-sided installation drawing of 33 objects in Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1937Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
Recto of double-sided installation drawing of 33 objects in Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles, Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1937Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
Untitled (double-sided drawing) [verso] (1943)
Untitled (double-sided drawing) [verso], 1943Calder Foundation, New York; Anonymous Gift, 2004
Untitled (double-sided drawing) [verso], 1943
Calder Foundation, New York
Calder, Roxbury studio (1963)
Calder, Roxbury studio, 1963Photograph by Pedro Guerrero © Pedro Guerrero
Calder, Roxbury studio, 1963
Photograph by Pedro Guerrero
Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition (1964)
Calder at the opening preview for Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1964Photograph by Ugo Mulas © Ugo Mulas Heirs
Calder at the opening preview for Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1964
Photograph by Ugo Mulas
Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition (1964)
Installation photograph, Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1964Photograph by Rufus Stillman
Installation photograph, Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1964Photograph by Rufus Stillman
Related exhibitions  11
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York (1937)

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York. Calder: Stabiles & Mobiles. 23 February–13 March 1937.

Solo Exhibition
George Walter Vincent Smith Gallery, Springfield, Massachusetts (1938)

George Walter Vincent Smith Gallery, Springfield, Massachusetts. Calder Mobiles. 8–27 November 1938.

Solo Exhibition
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1964)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition. 6 November 1964–31 January 1965.

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
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul (2013)

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. Calder. 18 July–20 October 2013.

Solo Exhibition
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2013)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Calder and Abstraction: From Avant-Garde to Iconic. 24 November 2013–27 July 2014.

Solo Exhibition
Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2015)

Museo Jumex, Mexico City. Calder: Discipline of the Dance. 21 March–28 June 2015.

Solo Exhibition
Tate Modern, London (2015)

Tate Modern, London. Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture. 11 November 2015–3 April 2016.

Solo Exhibition
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2017)

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Calder: Hypermobility. 9 June–23 October 2017.

Solo Exhibition
Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires (2018)

Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires. Alexander Calder: Theater of Encounters. 8 September 2018–15 January 2019.

Solo Exhibition
Centro Botín, Santander, Spain (2019)

Centro Botín, Santander, Spain. Calder Stories. 29 June–3 November 2019.

Solo Exhibition
Selected films  1
Works of Calder
Works of Calder 1950Directed and cinematography by Herbert Matter
Archive
Works / Panel / Frame 24
Blue Panel (1936)
Blue Panel, 1936
White Panel (1936)
White Panel, 1936
Red Panel (1936)
Red Panel, 1936
Red Panel (1936)
Red Panel, 1936
Works / Wall Sculpture 40
Swizzle Sticks (1936)
Swizzle Sticks, 1936
Little Yellow Panel (1936)
Little Yellow Panel , 1936
Little Yellow Panel (c. 1936)
Little Yellow Panel, c. 1936
Object with Yellow Background (1936)
Object with Yellow Background, 1936
Related Timeline
1930–1936
1930–1936 Shift to Abstraction

Following a visit in October of 1930 to Piet Mondrian’s studio, where he was impressed by the environmental installation, Calder made his first wholly abstract compositions and invented the kinetic sculpture now known as the mobile. Coined for these works by Marcel Duchamp in 1931, the word “mobile” refers to both “motion” and “motive” in French. He also created stationary abstract works that Jean Arp dubbed “stabiles.”