Alexander Calder

American, 1898-1976

Harlequin's Dream

© Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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© Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

Harlequin's Dream, 1963

Artwork Details

Materials

gouache on paper

Measurements

sheet: 23 x 31 inches (58.42 x 78.74 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Credit

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1969

Accession ID

K1969:19

Alexander Calder’s fascination with the circus began in his mid-twenties when he was sent to do illustrations of the Barnum & Bailey circus for a New York journal. While living in Paris in 1926, he began creating a series of small-scale sculptural works—made of wire, fabric, and other materials—depicting a miniature circus in which tiny performers walked tightropes, danced, and performed acrobatics. He would often bring Calder’s Circus to life for audiences in his Paris apartment. Harlequin’s Dream takes the iconic form of a traditional harlequin’s hat and reduces it to three simple forms, bringing to life Calder’s favorite color scheme of red, yellow, and blue. Black is also brought into the composition through a large, gestural swoop that nearly leaps from the page.

Label from Artists in Depth: Arp, Miró, Calder, March 25, 2011–April 15, 2012