Grouping of two Alexander Calder lithographs from Derriere le Miroir No. 141, published in 1963: Stabiles VII, and Stabiles VIII.  Derriere le Miroir was the legendary art revue published in Paris by Aime Maeght, from 1946 through 1982.  Artists who contributed special edition lithographs included Chagall, Miro, Giacometti and Calder. Printed by Atelier Maeght, one of the most renowned printmakers in history, producing prints of the highest quality.  Presented in a 1 1/8 inch wide handmade white wood frame, double white and blue conservation mat, and conservation clear acrylic glazing.  Mat opening size: 14 1/2  x 11 inches; overall size with frame: 20 x 17 inches.  As with all of our framed art, the frame and framing materials are new.  The prints are in mint condition, having never been previously displayed, and once framed are stored in a controlled environment away from light.   The price is for both framed prints.
 
Alexander Calder was a sculptor, renowned for his stabiles and mobiles he began creating in the 1930s. Calder’s vision was broad and groundbreaking, and his output was enormous, ranging from small figurines to large, architecturally related sculptures.  He was born in Philadelphia in 1898, the son of an academic sculptor.  Although trained as a mechanical engineer, he turned to art, and attended the Art Students League in New York City, where  he established himself as an illustrator and caricaturist.  While in Paris in 1926, he took up sculpture.  After working on wood pieces, he began to make circus figures composed of twisted wire, wheels, string, and cloth.  His miniature circus captured the attention of the avant-garde in Paris.  Inspited by the work of Joan Miró, Jean Arp, Fernand Léger, and Piet Mondrian, he created his first abstract stabiles in 1930.  From these early works and his interest in movement, Calder developed handcranked, motorized, and then wind-powered constructions that were dubbed ​“mobiles” by the French artist Marcel Duchamp.  These sculptures, usually painted in bold basic colors, turn, bob, and rotate, in a constantly changing relationship to the space around them.  Many of his sculptures were transformed into lithographs that remain quite popular.