Alexander Calder

Charioteers: Mechanism
1926–1931

Two old, square metal plates with central knobs connected by a wavy cord on a white background.
Two old, square metal plates with central knobs connected by a wavy cord on a white background.

On view
Floor 7

Date
1926–1931

Classification
Sculpture

Medium
Metal, wire, wheels, and string

Dimensions
Overall (variable): 3/4 × 15 × 4 7/8in. (1.9 × 38.1 × 12.4 cm)

Accession number
83.36.24.3

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T. M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the DeWitt Wallace Fund, Inc.; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign.

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

API
artworks/43390

Part of a series:

Calder's Circus

88 works

A whimsical yellow figure balancing on a curved wire with red-shoed feet, against a plain background.
A rustic, wire-framed figurine with a carved wooden head, cloth body, and metal shoes against a plain background.
A whimsical sculpture with a polka-dotted blouse, a head, and shoes connected by curved wires, creating a playful, abstract figure.
Sculpture of a whimsical figure with a round head, wire limbs, and colorful shoes, striking a joyful pose against a white background.
A whimsical sculpture of a humanoid figure doing a handstand, crafted from organic materials, against a white background.
Handstand figurine with black shoes and red cheeks on a white background.
A vintage toy dog made of brown fabric on wheels with a pull string, against a gray background.
Sculpture of a whimsical wire figure with a hat and fabric clothing, holding a lasso, against a plain background.
A whimsical mobile with a wooden house and dangling paper flowers against a gray background.

Alexander Calder
186 works in the collection

View artist

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.