Calder Foundation
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Circus Scene, 1929

Work

Circus Scene

Date 1929
Media
Wire, wood, and paint
Dimensions
50" × 46 3⁄4" × 18 1⁄8"
Collection
Calder Foundation, New York
Wire Sculpture
Historical Photos  2
Calder working on Kiki de Montparnasse I (1929)
Calder working on Kiki de Montparnasse I in Montparnasse—Where the Muses Hold Sway, Pathé Cinema, Paris, May 1929
Calder working on Kiki de Montparnasse I in Montparnasse—Where the Muses Hold Sway, Pathé Cinema, Paris, May 1929
Calder in his studio at 14 rue de la Colonie (1931)
Calder in his studio at 14 rue de la Colonie, Paris, fall 1931Photograph by Marc Vaux © Bibliothèque Kandinsky, Centre Georges Pompidou, Marc Vaux Collection
Calder in his studio at 14 rue de la Colonie, Paris, fall 1931
Photograph by Marc Vaux
Related exhibitions  8
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1976)

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Calder’s Universe. 14 October 1976–6 February 1977.

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
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2009)

Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Alexander Calder: les années parisiennes 1926–1933. 18 March–20 July 2009. Originated from the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Solo Exhibition
Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (2009)

Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome. Calder: Sculptor of Air. 23 October 2009–14 February 2010.

Solo Exhibition
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul (2013)

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

Solo Exhibition
Tate Modern, London (2015)

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

Solo Exhibition
Pace Gallery, New York (2019)

Pace Gallery, New York. Calder: Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere. 14 September–26 October 2019.

Solo Exhibition
Archive
Works / Wire Sculpture 76
The Brass Family (1929)
The Brass Family, 1929
Acrobate (c. 1929)
Acrobate, c. 1929
Acrobats (1929)
Acrobats, 1929
Le Lanceur de poids (1929)
Le Lanceur de poids, 1929
Related Timeline
1926–1930
1926–1930 Wire Sculpture and the Circus

Soon after moving to Paris in 1926, Calder created his Cirque Calder. Made of wire and a spectrum of found materials, the Cirque was a work of performance art that gained Calder an introduction to the Parisian avant-garde. He continued to explore his invention of wire sculpture, whereby he “drew” with wire in three dimensions the portraits of friends, animals, circus themes, and personalities of the day.