Alexander Calder

Cowboy on Horse

1926–1931

A whimsical wire sculpture of a person riding a horse-like contraption with a red stick tail.
A whimsical wire sculpture of a person riding a horse-like contraption with a red stick tail.

On view
Floor 7

Date
1926–1931

Classification
Sculpture

Medium
Galvanized wire, painted galvanized wire, steel wire, painted wood, cork, leather, springs, and felt

Dimensions
Overall: 9 3/8 × 24 3/4 × 9 1/4in. (23.8 × 62.9 × 23.5 cm)

Accession number
83.36.19

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/5506

Part of a series:
Calder's Circus
88 works

Small wire sculpture with a polka dot fabric torso and stone feet on a plain background.
A small wire sculpture of a person with raised arms, wearing an orange outfit and yellow shoes.
A simple wire and fabric figure with a wooden head, standing on a plain background.
A small, abstract figure made of natural materials performs a handstand on a plain background.
A small wire sculpture of a person with a yellow shirt and outstretched arms.
Small, flexible toy figure doing a headstand with arms and legs bent outward.
A vintage toy horse with a fabric body, wooden wheels, and a string attached to its head.
Wire sculpture of a person with a hat, wearing a cloth, raising one arm.
A small wooden birdhouse hangs with delicate wire and paper decorations below it.
Green handled scrub brush with beige bristles, resting on a light gray surface.

Alexander Calder
187 works in the collection, 35 exhibitions

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On the Hour

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Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

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