c. 1928

Portrait of Laura Canadé Zigrosser (1907-1997)

American, 1898 - 1976

Alexander Calder first aspired to be an engineer, only committing to a life as an artist in the early 1920s. His earliest works include kinetic (moving) toys, animal figurines, and wire portraits of celebrities and friends, such as this representation of Laura Canadé, the daughter of painter Vincent Canadé and later wife to prominent art dealer and curator Carl Zigrosser. Such sculptures appear like ink drawings in three dimensions, their delicate forms made possible only by the wire’s flexibility and strength. Calder transformed this basic industrial material, making it a mainstay of his artistic repertoire.