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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1996.18
People
Alexander Calder, American (Philadelphia, PA 1898 - 1976 New York, NY)
Title
Buchholz Gallery Catalogue Illustration: Prelude to the Man-Eater; Starfish; Octopus
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Sketches for Mobiles (and "Octopus"); Catalogue illustration: Prelude to the Man-Eater; Starfish; Octopus
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1945
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/305839

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black ink on heavy off-white wove paper
Dimensions
39.3 x 29.8 cm (15 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: black ink, upper right: Prelude to the Man-Eater; lower left: Starfish; lower right: Octopus; verso, graphite: 4000 / 3-2

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Buchholz Gallery, Curt Valentin, New York, New York], sold; to Lois Orswell, Pomfret Center, Connecticut, 1946, 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
1996.18
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Alexander Calder, auct. cat., Buchholz Gallery (New York, NY, 1945), repr. inside cover
  • Marjorie B. Cohn and Sarah Kianovsky, Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Modern Art, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2002), cat. no. 19, fig. 112, pp. 371, 374

Exhibition History

  • Alexander Calder, Buchholz Gallery, New York, 11/13/1945 - 12/01/1945
  • 20th Century Abstract Painting and Sculpture, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, 04/16/1947 - 05/18/1947

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