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Lot Essay
This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A15002.
“Three young rats with black felt hats,
Three young ducks with white straw flats,
Three young dogs with curling tails,
Three young cats with demi-veils,
Went out to walk with two young pigs
In satin vests and sorrel wigs;
But suddenly it chanced to rain,
And so they all went home again.”
(James Johnson Sweeney, ed., Three Young Rats and Other Rhymes with Eighty-Five Drawings by Alexander Calder, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1946, p. 2.)
Carol and Robert Straus were dedicated and passionate supporters of the arts. Mrs. Straus was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1912 and from an early age she was fascinated by the creative process and after studying sociology at the University of Texas, she moved to Houston where she briefly pursued a career as an actress (at the Houston Little Theater). In 1932 she married her husband Robert and the couple became central figures in the city’s burgeoning arts community. In addition to the arts, Mrs. Straus supported a number of other local organizations including serving as board president of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Texas, vice president of Houston Council of World Affairs, and a board member of Methodist Hospital Auxiliary, Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston, YWCA Houston, KUHF-TV Houston (where she created the first ever on-air auction on public television) and the Johnson Art Center in Vermont.
The couple began collecting while he was stationed in New York where they met Roy Neuberger. The three spent much time at most of the prominent “Contemporary” galleries of the time. In 1948, Carol and Robert were founders of the Contemporary Arts Association, which would ultimately become known as the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The mission was to present new art and to document its role in modern life through exhibitions, lectures and other activities. The first exhibitions were presented at various sites throughout the city, such as The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and included This is Contemporary Art and L. Maholy-Nagy: Memorial Exhibition. The success of these first shows led in 1950 to the building of a small, professionally equipped facility where ambitious exhibitions of the work of Vincent van Gogh, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, and John Biggers and his students from the then-fledgling Texas Negro College (now Texas Southern University), reflected Houston's receptiveness to new ideas.
In addition to their invaluable support for arts institutions throughout Texas, the Strauses also assembled a distinguished personal collection of their own. Their willingness to embrace the work of emerging artist’s led to their acquisition of such ground-breaking works as Martin Puryear’s Fraught (to be offered in Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on November 15th). His striking and enigmatic circular sculpture re-evaluates the conventions of art as Puryear, who came to art as a painter, thinks of works such as this less as traditional sculpture, and more in terms of a drawing made of wood.
The Strauses were particular admirers of Alexander Calder’s work and acquired several examples of his sculptures for their collection. Paramount among these is Rat, an exquisite example of the complex nature of the artist’s sculptural practice. From the long sleek body to the wire whiskers, Calder expertly captures the characteristics of his subject using his skills as an artist and engineer. The variety and technical virtuosity contained with Calder’s oeuvre can be seen in another work from their collection—Pole Sitter. Standing just 10 inches tall, and three inches across at its widest point, this work is as technically and aesthetically accomplished as any of his career. Encompossing striking color and graceful form, Pole Sitter is a quintessential example of Calder’s unique art practice.
“Three young rats with black felt hats,
Three young ducks with white straw flats,
Three young dogs with curling tails,
Three young cats with demi-veils,
Went out to walk with two young pigs
In satin vests and sorrel wigs;
But suddenly it chanced to rain,
And so they all went home again.”
(James Johnson Sweeney, ed., Three Young Rats and Other Rhymes with Eighty-Five Drawings by Alexander Calder, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1946, p. 2.)
Carol and Robert Straus were dedicated and passionate supporters of the arts. Mrs. Straus was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1912 and from an early age she was fascinated by the creative process and after studying sociology at the University of Texas, she moved to Houston where she briefly pursued a career as an actress (at the Houston Little Theater). In 1932 she married her husband Robert and the couple became central figures in the city’s burgeoning arts community. In addition to the arts, Mrs. Straus supported a number of other local organizations including serving as board president of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Texas, vice president of Houston Council of World Affairs, and a board member of Methodist Hospital Auxiliary, Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston, YWCA Houston, KUHF-TV Houston (where she created the first ever on-air auction on public television) and the Johnson Art Center in Vermont.
The couple began collecting while he was stationed in New York where they met Roy Neuberger. The three spent much time at most of the prominent “Contemporary” galleries of the time. In 1948, Carol and Robert were founders of the Contemporary Arts Association, which would ultimately become known as the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The mission was to present new art and to document its role in modern life through exhibitions, lectures and other activities. The first exhibitions were presented at various sites throughout the city, such as The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and included This is Contemporary Art and L. Maholy-Nagy: Memorial Exhibition. The success of these first shows led in 1950 to the building of a small, professionally equipped facility where ambitious exhibitions of the work of Vincent van Gogh, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, and John Biggers and his students from the then-fledgling Texas Negro College (now Texas Southern University), reflected Houston's receptiveness to new ideas.
In addition to their invaluable support for arts institutions throughout Texas, the Strauses also assembled a distinguished personal collection of their own. Their willingness to embrace the work of emerging artist’s led to their acquisition of such ground-breaking works as Martin Puryear’s Fraught (to be offered in Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on November 15th). His striking and enigmatic circular sculpture re-evaluates the conventions of art as Puryear, who came to art as a painter, thinks of works such as this less as traditional sculpture, and more in terms of a drawing made of wood.
The Strauses were particular admirers of Alexander Calder’s work and acquired several examples of his sculptures for their collection. Paramount among these is Rat, an exquisite example of the complex nature of the artist’s sculptural practice. From the long sleek body to the wire whiskers, Calder expertly captures the characteristics of his subject using his skills as an artist and engineer. The variety and technical virtuosity contained with Calder’s oeuvre can be seen in another work from their collection—Pole Sitter. Standing just 10 inches tall, and three inches across at its widest point, this work is as technically and aesthetically accomplished as any of his career. Encompossing striking color and graceful form, Pole Sitter is a quintessential example of Calder’s unique art practice.