Untitled (Juggler with Dog), 1931/1964, From Calder’s Circus, unbound portfolio of sixteen offset lithographs (New York: Art in America and Perls Galleries, 1964), Alexander Calder, 1898-1976, offset lithograph on toned rag paper, 12 3/8 × 16 7/8 in. sheet, Promised gift of Jon and Mary Shirley, © 2023 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo: Nicholas Shirley, Brightwood Photos
Verbal Description Transcript:
This is a group of 7 prints on toned rag paper, dating from 1964. The prints are from an unbound portfolio of sixteen offset lithographs reproducing circus drawings from 1931–32. They’re displayed in a group, hung on the wall. The sheets of paper themselves are rectangular; some are in portrait, others in landscape format. They range in size from about 1 to 1 and a half feet in both height and width. Each sheet is framed, adding another couple of inches to their size. Each image shows a scene from a circus, executed in stylized, simplified outlines. One shows a man standing at the top of a stepladder in the center of the ring. One arm is outstretched and he looks down to where a curly dog, on its hind legs, stands at the foot of the ladder. In one, a naked male juggler performs, watched by a short-haired dog. In one, a male acrobat rehearses a single-handed handstand on the top of a ladder; below, a group of five people sit on the ground, chatting. Some are fully clothed, others appear semi-naked or in leotards. In one, two jugglers in shorts are playing with three different sized balls; one man balances one of the balls on his head, while the other seems to be about to catch or bat a smaller ball with the palm of his hand. In one, a clown with a ruff around his neck and a tightrope artist on a pedestal face towards us, each waving one arm. Behind them parade an elephant, a pony and a dog. One shows two trapeze artists: one hangs from the trapeze by his knees, reaching out to catch the other who flies towards him. And one shows a group of 7 men with an elephant – some leading, some following, and several of them gesturing towards the animal with their arms. A distinctive feature of the images is that the forms are executed in outlines, with no shading, and these outlines overlap to show what is behind. So, for example, one man stands in front of the elephant’s hind legs, gesturing upward with one arm. But the lines forming the elephant’s legs and belly are shown behind him, rather than being hidden by him.