Stegosaurus [intermediate maquette]
Artist: Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)
Date: 1973
Dimensions:
160 x 171 x 96 in. (406.4 x 434.3 x 243.8 cm)
Medium: painted steel
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Gift of Marshall Field's, by exchange, and purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 2000.67
Label Text:Alexander Calder was one of the most popular and acclaimed artists of the twentieth century. Famous for his invention of mobiles (see one in the main museum galleries), Calder also created what came to be called “stabiles,” such as this example. Stegosaurus, a late work in Calder’s long and prolific career, is both a powerful, elegant composition of forms and a playful reference to the eccentrically shaped dinosaur. Calder had a lifelong fascination with unusual and fanciful creatures, in particular birds and dinosaurs. He was especially skilled at capturing the essence of a creature or other form by focusing on a single feature. In this case, the steel shapes—painted “Calder red”—jutting up from the arches of the sculpture suggest the dinosaur’s spiky plates.
On view
In Collection(s)