Property from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody Frances and Sidney Brody had an appreciation for masterpieces of the Impressionist period but were true Modernists at heart. Their all-consuming immersion in the world of art was expressed vividly in their tour-de-force Modernist home located in Los Angeles. In 1952 they commissioned Matisse to execute a massive ceramic-tile wall mural, one of few the artist ever made -- this mural signaled the Brodys' greater affinity for the art of their own century which would come to distinguish their collection. Of particular interest in this regard are those artists first collected by the Brodys, such as Pierre Bonnard, Jean Metzinger, and James Ensor. More striking even is the Brodys' devotion to sculpture which extends from early figurative works by Honoré Daumier and Edgar Degas, to bronze masterpieces by Alberto Giacometti and table-top pieces by Alexander Calder. The Brodys' interest in Contemporary art went hand-in-hand with their dedicated work as patrons of the arts. They were founding benefactors of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which opened in 1965. Frances was extremely active on the UCLA Arts Council, where she served as President. Sidney was also deeply involved in the cultural life of Los Angeles; he served as Trustee, President and then Board Chairman of LACMA, as well as participating in various other arts and medical organizations, and was ultimately appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities by President Reagan. The Brodys were nationally recognized as civic leaders in the Los Angeles area as well as pioneering collectors of Modern art.

Alexander Calder (1898-1976)

Untitled

细节

Alexander Calder (1898-1976)
Untitled
standing mobile--painted sheet metal, brass and wire
16¼ x 16 x 9¼ in. (41.2 x 40.6 x 23.5 cm.)
Executed circa 1947.

来源

Acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, circa 1958
By descent from the above to the present owner

拍品专文

This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A25017.

Calder's gleaming Untitled is an exquisite example of the artist's unique combination of artistic and technical skill. His elegantly composed tumbling cascade of diminutive colored discs balances, delicately on top of a tall, elegantly proportioned base. Calder's use of highly polished brass adds a unique dimension to this work. Precisely balanced at the pinnacle of the work, the constellation of colored discs orbit around the central axis with its reflections appearing in the shimmering surface of the brass. A push or a gust will set its carefully balanced elements in motion, introducing that magical element of chance and movement that makes Calder's sculptures so fascinating. As he himself said, "When everything goes right a mobile is a piece of poetry that dances with the joy of life and surprises" (A. Calder, Calder, London, 2004, p. 261).