1941- The Lost Year of Calder

There was a fascinating article in the New York Times today about great sculptor/artist Alexander Calder and the year of his career that is least known to scholars of his work.

A series of photographs taken by his friend Hearbert Matter show Calder in his Roxburry, Connecticut warehouse studio surrounded by mountains of metal and walls of glass. The photgraphs, taken in 1941 showcase many works that have rarely been seen since they went into private collections.

The year 1941 would be the last year Calder would have access to all the aluminum sheet-metal he could wish for-Pearl Harbor and the beginning of WWII would see to that. After that year Calder began working in wood and bronze. Much like his attitude to his own work, he never looked back- giant aluminum and steel monstrositys were well...behind him.

New York Times writer Randy Kennedy speaks about a particular structure called "Tree," that almost dissapeared for good when it failed to sell and Calder took it apart and gave the base to a iron worker friend. Fortunately, for Calder fans, it was rescued. Many years ago, the presdient of the Calder Foundation, Mr. Alexander Rower (Calder's Grandson) found the hanging portion of the sculpture packaged neatly in a shoebox. Reunited at last, the piece glimmers with red shards of car tail-lights and stands tall with its base that looks like a cross between a resting bird and a graceful childs drawing of a dinosaur.

I was shocked to read that during the 1930s and 40s-even as his acclaim was growing, his works were not highly sought after. A ledger in the foundation's files shows that only a few pieces in the 1941 show were sold-one in particular to Solomon R. Guggenheim for just $233.34 (around $3500 in today's money). It's worth noting that The Museum of Modern Art bought its first Calder in 1934 for just $60 after talking Calder down from $100.

If you happen to be in New York this weekend, you can see several pieces from this important period of his career at Pace Gallery's uptown branch.