Quilt

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Quilt

Artist Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)

Date1966

DimensionsOverall: 21 15/16 x 29 5/8 in. (55.8 x 75.3 cm)

MediumLithograph

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Paul Orr

Object number

1976.17

Not on View

Label TextTrained as a mechanical engineer, Alexander Calder’s natural inquisitiveness and his ability to make things carried over to his career as an artist. The elements, shapes, and movement inherent in Calder’s deservedly famous mobile sculptures are displayed two-dimensionally in this colorful print. The triangles, circles, spirals, and square balance within a wire-like grid of red and bluish gray lines, seemingly suspended in mid-air. The title of the artwork might relate to the weave created by the grid lines and the shapes, particularly the pinwheel in the lower left corner. Known to quilters as Old Crow, the fan-like design is a classic motif, codified in late 19th-century literature.