Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976, American) Cats in Art at The Great Cat

Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976, American)

Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976, American) is considered to be one of the world’s most important 20^th century sculptors. Born into a family of successful artists, his father was a well-known sculptor and his mother a professional portrait artist, Calder was adept at mathematics and studied mechanical engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. It was only after he graduated that he started his pursuit of painting. However, he used his mathematical talent to gain notoriety for his wire mobiles and sculptures. Calder had the gift of making abstract art move. In 1926, Calder moved to Paris and enrolled in the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and established a studio in the Montparnasse quarter. Calder met several avant-garde artists during this time such as Fernand Leger and Marcel Duchamp. In 1937, Calder was allowed to exhibit a Mercury Fountain in the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris World’s Fair. It was placed right next to Picasso’s Guernica and was quite a success.

Instead of paints and canvas, Calder always carried wire and pliers to create designs by ‘drawing in space’. Red was Calder’s favorite color and most of his works are in basic red, black and white. His mobiles and sculptures of cats are whimsical and playful. Undoubtedly, he liked cats and studied their behavior.

Calder’s works are readily seen all over the world, especially his large sculptures. Museums such as the Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art in New York have a large selection.

Jean-Paul Sartre said of Calder’s mobiles: “The forces at work are too numerous and complicated for any human mind, even that of their creator, to be able to foresee all their combinations. For each of them Calder establishes a general fated course of movement, then abandons them to it: time, sun, heat and wind will determine each particular dance.”

Just after opening a retrospective of his life’s work at The Whitney Museum in New York in 1976, Calder died of a heart attack.

Cat Mobile, 1966

The Rattle Cat, 1969

Cat, Bronze

Cat Sculpture

Cat Lamp, 1928

Bird and Cat

Cats and an Elephant

A Thoughtful Eye, 1925

Book on Animal Sketching-Cats

To Mary Reynolds Who Loved Cats, 1955 (Pen and black ink on white wove paper)

Mary Reynolds with Her Cats.

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