three black animal silhouettes along bottom edge--long-legged bird at left, snake at center, mouse with long tail at right; cattails delineated with long, straight, thin stems and diagonal tops, with taller and denser cattails at left, shorter and thinner at right; yellow sun above cattail heads at right center; orange and blue spiral seed pod on the diagonal with head at top right of center

%C2%A9 Calder Foundation%2C New York %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York

Seed Pod and Cattails, 1968

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Gouache on paperexpand_more

Bequest of Bruce B. Daytonexpand_more  2016.33.45

Not on Viewexpand_more

In 1968, Alexander Calder made dynamic brush drawings of marsh reeds, usually with an additional symbol, such as the sun, flowers, or a seed pod like this one. One can imagine Calder, so famous for his mobiles, brought to life with air movement, watching with rapt attention as breezes set long grasses into motion. “What I produce is not precisely what I have in mind,” Calder explained, “but a sort of sketch, a man-made approximation. That others grasp what I have in mind seems unessential … as long as they have something else in theirs.”

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Details
Title
Seed Pod and Cattails
Artist Life
1898–1976
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2016.33.45
Provenance
(Perls Galleries, New York [inv. no. 9165]); Bruce B. Dayton, Wayzata, Minn. (inv. no. 68-13); Estate of Bruce B. Dayton; bequeathed to MIA, 2016
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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three black animal silhouettes along bottom edge--long-legged bird at left, snake at center, mouse with long tail at right; cattails delineated with long, straight, thin stems and diagonal tops, with taller and denser cattails at left, shorter and thinner at right; yellow sun above cattail heads at right center; orange and blue spiral seed pod on the diagonal with head at top right of center

© Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork.