Alexander Calder, 1898-1976

The striking mobile sculptures of Alexander Calder are among the most notable and original creations of twentieth-century art. Combining for the first time movement and sculpture, these works represent a new and highly influential departure from the practices of the past. Yet Calder's work ranges much more widely. This lavishly illustrated book reflects the full diversity of Calder's oeuvre and explores an outstanding selection of more than two hundred of his works.Based on access to family archives, an overview of Calder's entire career, and contributions from the artist's grandson Alexander S. C. Rower, this book for the first time presents the artist in a serious light and proper historical context.Without ignoring the playful and whimsical dimension of his work, the book emphasizes Calder's role as one of the great formal innovators of the century. Each work of art selected from those produced during his prolific career is reproduced here in color and is accompanied by comparative works, informative essays, and extensive chronology.This book is the catalogue of a major centenary exhibit that opens at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., on March 29, 1998 and then travels to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.