The Acrobats

Alexander Calder, The Acrobats, 1944, plaster, sight 11 3410 387 58 in. (30.026.219.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alexander Calder, 1971.358A-B

Artwork Details

Title
The Acrobats
Date
1944
Dimensions
sight 11 3410 387 58 in. (30.026.219.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alexander Calder
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group — male — nude
  • Performing arts — circus — acrobat
Object Number
1971.358A-B

Artwork Description

Alexander Calder became fascinated with the circus when a job with The Police Gazette in New York required him to draw cartoons of local athletic events. He went on to study the movements of acrobats, trapeze artists, knife throwers, belly dancers and a vast array of animals. He began his legendary "Circus" piece in Paris, and expanded it over the years until it filled five suitcases and a two-hour show. The Acrobats was inspired by these early studies and represents a brief period when Calder worked in plaster, creating mobile objects that would be cast in bronze.

Works by this artist (2 items)

Ammi Phillips, Portrait of Helen (Lena) Ten Broeck, 1834, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ralph and Bobbi Terkowitz, 2019.6.10
Portrait of Helen (Lena) Ten Broeck
Date1834
oil on canvas
On view
Ammi Phillips, Portrait of Mrs. Robinson, ca. 1819, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ralph and Bobbi Terkowitz, 2019.6.11
Portrait of Mrs. Robinson
Dateca. 1819
oil on canvas
On view

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Jacob Maentel, Portrait of Elizabeth Sweitzer Musser, ca. 1826, watercolor and pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ralph and Bobbi Terkowitz, 2019.6.5
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Portrait of George Musser
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