Alexander Calder

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Biron, Château Biron, Calder, 1986, p. 24, no.5, illustrated in colour
Paris, Galerie Maeght, Calder, 1987
Barcelona, Galeria Maeght, Calder, 1989, p. 26, no. 48, illustrated in colour
Aix-en-Provance, Galerie d'Art du Conseil Général, Autour de Georges Duthuit, 2003, p.18, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is light wear and handling to all four edges and extreme corner tips with some associated specks of paint loss, and some additional touches of wear in a few places elsewhere. There is a short rub mark towards the lower centre of the composition in the yellow pigment. There is a faint stretcher bar impression along the lower edge. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Vibrant and playful, Calder’s Smoke Rings is characteristic of his distinctive artistic vocabulary. Influenced by the experimental abstraction of Mondrian and Miró, Calder explained, “the underlying sense of form in my work has been the system of the Universe, or part thereof…the idea of detached bodies floating in space, of different sizes and densities, perhaps of different colours and temperatures, and surrounded and interlarded with wisps of gaseous condition” (Alexander Calder, ‘What Abstract Art Means to Me’, Museum of Modern Art Bulletin 18, no.3 (Spring 1951), pp.8-9). This sense of the universe, so evident in the mobiles and stabiles which dominated his artistic production of the post-war period, is essential to the success of the present work. The boldly geometric shapes are suspended in a harmonious spatiality by the clouds of primary colour that underpin the work.

In his autobiography Calder recalled being in Guatemala in the months just before he abandoned his career as a mechanical engineer to become an artist, and seeing the sun rising on one side of the sky whilst the moon remained suspended on the other; he described it as giving him a ‘lasting impression of the solar system’ (Alexander Calder, Jean Davidson, Calder: An Autobiography with Pictures, New York, 1966, p.38). In Smoke Rings, sun and moon coexist and are accompanied by other more mysterious celestial bodies. Calder’s unique language of abstraction finds full play in a work that is at once uplifting and life-affirming.