Harvard Art Museums > 1996.32.A: Octopus Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Octopus (Alexander Calder) , 1996.32.A,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/232818. This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text Octopus is a rare example of Calder’s bronze work, created when the artist was experimenting with new materials. The work’s interlocking forms reveal Calder’s interest in subtle movement, as the attenuated tentacles balance precisely atop one another. Though Calder frequently exhibited with surrealists, his work is rarely considered in that context. Octopus, however, shows a clear affinity with the enthusiasms of surrealist artists, who were captivated by machinery, childhood toys, and the fantastic. At once organic and mechanical, comic and unsettling, Octopus conveys a state of uncertainty. Calder was ultimately unhappy with the casting process, believing bronze failed to capture the handmade quality he desired, and he soon returned to the sheet metal works for which he is more widely known. Identification and Creation Object Number 1996.32.A People Alexander Calder, American (Philadelphia, PA 1898 - 1976 New York, NY) Title Octopus Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture Date 1944 Places Creation Place: North America, United States Culture American Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/232818 Physical Descriptions Medium Bronze Dimensions 43.18 x 20.32 x 1.91 cm (17 x 8 x 3/4 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: on piece A along edge Provenance Recorded Ownership History Lois Orswell, Pomfret Center, Connecticut, gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1996. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Lois Orswell Copyright © Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Accession Year 1996 Object Number 1996.32.A Division Modern and Contemporary Art Contact am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History Marla Prather, Alexander Calder, 1898-1976, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C, 1998), p. 219, fig. 184, color repro. Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Friends: Works from the Lois Orswell Collection, Harvard University, exh. cat., Knoedler & Co. Inc. (New York, 2003), p37 Exhibition History 20th Century Abstract Painting and Sculpture, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, 04/16/1947 - 05/18/1947 Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Friends: Works from the Lois Orswell Collection, Harvard University, Knoedler & Co. Inc., New York, 11/14/2003 - 01/24/2004 Related Works 1996.32.A-E Alexander Calder Octopus Sculpture Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
