Alexander Calder
1898-1976 · American · Kinetic art, Abstraction
Auction record: $25.93M
Poisson volant (Flying Fish), 1957 · Christie's, New York · May 13, 2014
Source: heni.com
Biography
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor who invented the mobile, a suspended abstract sculpture set in motion by air, and the stabile, its static counterpart. Trained as an engineer, he moved in Paris avant-garde circles around 1930, where a visit to Mondrian's studio pushed him toward abstraction. His wire figures, Cirque Calder, gouaches, jewellery and monumental public works make his output very large and varied. The market is deep and international, with mobiles from the 1940s and 1950s at the top. His record, Poisson volant (1957), sold for 25.9 million dollars at Christie's New York in 2014, and in November 2025 the wooden mobile Painted Wood (1943) reached 20.4 million dollars, his second highest auction price.
Recent auction results
| Lion Marin NoirChristie's, New York | $826K | Nov 20, 2025 | heni.com |
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Market
- Liquidity: High
Museums
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Centre Pompidou, Parigi
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
Sources
- HENI News, Poisson volant record
- Artnet News, Calder Painted Wood mobile at Christie's
- The Art Newspaper, Wooden Calder mobile to auction
- HENI News, Lion Marin Noir November 2025
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