Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Rejecting centuries of sculptural tradition, Alexander Calder forged a new visual language with Painted Wood (1943)—a pivotal work from his groundbreaking Constellation series.
Inspired by his time in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s among the artistic avant-garde, Painted Wood elegantly synthesizes Calder's bold sculptural innovations through the use of hand-carved natural and painted wooden forms suspended in space. What results is a delicate balance of color and form—abstraction in three dimensions.
Among the largest Constellation mobiles ever made—and the final work of this scale remaining in private hands, hailing from the esteemed collection of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros—Painted Wood marks a turning point: A sculptural innovation. A new artistic language. Calder, like you've never seen him.
🔗 Experience Calder's Constellation mobile at the link: christies.com/en/lot/lot-6559890?cid=EM_SM_O_YT_Inc_CON____________
📅 20th Century Evening Sale | New York | 17 November 2025
Rejecting centuries of sculptural tradition, Alexander Calder forged a new visual language with Painted Wood (1943)—a pivotal work from his groundbreaking Constellation series.
Inspired by his time in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s among the artistic avant-garde, Painted Wood elegantly synthesizes Calder's bold sculptural innovations through the use of hand-carved natural and painted wooden forms suspended in space. What results is a delicate balance of color and form—abstraction in three dimensions.
Among the largest Constellation mobiles ever made—and the final work of this scale remaining in private hands, hailing from the esteemed collection of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros—Painted Wood marks a turning point: A sculptural innovation. A new artistic language. Calder, like you've never seen him.
🔗 Experience Calder's Constellation mobile at the link: christies.com/en/lot/lot-6559890?cid=EM_SM_O_YT_Inc_CON____________
📅 20th Century Evening Sale | New York | 17 November 2025
