Calder Foundation

In Perspective

Date 1931
Media
Ink on paper
Dimensions
19" × 24 3⁄4"
Collection
Calder Foundation, New York; Gift of Sandra Calder Davidson, 2010
Related exhibitions  4
Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France (1969)

Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. Calder. 2 April–31 May 1969.

Solo Exhibition
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
Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires (2018)

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

Solo Exhibition
Musée Picasso, Paris (2019)

Musée Picasso, Paris. Calder-Picasso. 19 February–25 August 2019.

Group Exhibition
Works / Work on Paper 274
Related Timeline
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.”