Stegosaurus [intermediate maquette]

Artist Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)

Date1973

Dimensions160 x 171 x 96 in. (406.4 x 434.3 x 243.8 cm)

Mediumpainted steel

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Marshall Field's, by exchange, and purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

2000.67

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Sculpture Garden

Label TextAlexander 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.Published ReferencesBerkowitz, Roger M., "Selected Acquisitions Made By the Toledo Museum of Art, 1990-2001," Burlington, vol. 143, no. 1177, April, 2001, p. 257, fig. I (col.).

Ahlbeck, Reid and Jeanette Wenig Drake, "The Toledo Museum of Art: One Hundred Years of Attitude," Dialogue, vol. 24, no. 2, Mar./Apr. 2001, p. 38, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 344, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryHartford, University of Connecticut, long-term loan, 1973-2000.Comparative ReferencesSee also Zafran, Eric M., Calder in Connecticut, Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 2000, pp. 155-157.