Calder Foundation

Leaves and Tripod

Date 1939
Media
Rod, wire, sheet metal, lead, and paint
Dimensions
93" × 65" × 40"
Collection
Private Collection
Historical Photos  2
Related exhibitions  1
Centro Botín, Santander, Spain (2019)

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

Solo Exhibition
Chronology  1
1939

Calder is invited to make sculptures for an African habitat designed by Oscar Nitzschke for the Bronx Zoo. Calder conceives of treelike sculptures to be made in steel so they can withstand the abuse of the wild animals. Although the habitat is never realized, Calder creates five

models for the project: Sphere Pierced by Cylinders, Hollow Egg, Four Leaves and Three Petals, Leaves and Tripod, and The Hairpins.

Works / Standing Mobile 266
Related Timeline
1937–1945 Public Commissions and the War

In 1937, Calder completed Devil Fish, his first stabile enlarged from a model. He received two important commissions: Mercury Fountain (1937) and Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939). His first retrospective was held in 1938 at the George Walter Vincent Smith Gallery in Springfield, Massachusetts, followed by another in 1943 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.