Sculptor • Printmaker
Alexander
Calder.
Working in the United States
Work from the Lift Trucks Art collection
About the Artist
Inventor of the mobile.
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles — kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents that embrace chance in their aesthetic — and his static stabiles, and his monumental public sculptures. He studied mechanical engineering before turning to art, and that training never left the work. Every Calder is a problem solved with elegance.
Calder was represented by Galérie Maeght in Paris, one of the defining relationships between an artist and a European gallery in the twentieth century. Works acquired through Maeght entered collections around the world. The Calder at Lift Trucks — owned by Julie Garfield, daughter of actor John Garfield — was acquired directly through Maeght in 1965 and has remained in the family since.
The connection between Calder and Lift Trucks is personal, not institutional. It is the story of a single work and the woman who owns it — a painter who arrived at Lift Trucks in 2024 with her own work and brought with her, in the same room, a piece of her inheritance. That it happens to be a Calder is the kind of fact that requires no further interpretation.
“Strong lines like I-beams in a dynamic balance — a perfect blend of Pop and AbEx disciplines.”
ON CALDER’S GRAPHIC WORK
Featured Work
Come visit the studio.
Independent studio and exhibition space on Route 22 in Croton Falls, NY. 50 miles from New York City..