Alexander Calder Little Blue Oval 1944 Metal, paint, wire
Bequest of Monawee Allen Richards, Class of 1934 Permanent Collection 1944: Commissioned by Monawee Allen Richards. This small sculpture is perhaps the most well-known object in the Permanent Collection. Students regularly view Little Blue Oval, using it, for example, as inspiration for their studies in Sculpture II or Art of the Avant-Gardes 19001945. The piece has also been displayed several times in the college galleries. Monawee Allen Richards, Class of 1934, commissioned Little Blue Oval, which she displayed for many years on her coffee table, shortly after viewing Calder’s 1944 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Calder did not, however, sign the piece, so Richards wrote to the artist on 19 January 1966 asking him to confirm the work’s authenticity. Calder signed a photograph of the sculpture, confirming his creation of it, and returned the image to Richards. Copies of their correspondence, and the signed photograph, are now held in the object’s file, which also contains several images of Little Blue Oval displayed on Richards’s coffee table. Mobility is a key motif in Calder’s work, especially in his large hanging mobiles, which are found in museums and private collections around the world. Calder achieves a natural equilibrium, yet expresses movement, in this smaller piece. The scale of Little Blue Oval renders it more suitable for Richards’ coffee table than the larger mobiles she saw at MoMA. The sculpture features contrasting bright colors in red, navy, orange, and yellow. A large red fin, acting as a cantilever, pushes the smaller fins into the air, causing them to appear as if they are floating. When Little Blue Oval oscillates, you may notice that the fins move in opposite directions. Calder’s work was intended to react with the air, wind, and space around it. Therefore, the piece is displayed without a cover so it can move freely as air circulates within the galleries. Calder’s work was influenced by his close friend, Joan Miró, whose painting L’Envolee II (The Flight) is also displayed in the Commitment to the Arts section of this exhibition.
-Written by Rachel Vergara, Class of 2013
30