Bowtie
1944
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
watercolor, gouache, and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 57.2 x 78.7 cm (22 1/2 x 31 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls
Accession Number
1996.120.31
Art Historical Context
Alexander Calder's *Bowtie* (1944) is a dynamic drawing in watercolor, gouache, and black ink on wove paper, measuring 22½ × 31 inches. Now in the National Gallery of Art's collection through the generous gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, it exemplifies Calder's playful abstraction during World War II. Living in Connecticut at the time, Calder produced these works alongside his famous mobiles and stabiles, using flat surfaces to sketch the organic, biomorphic forms that would animate his kinetic sculptures. The title *Bowtie* evokes the artwork's central motif—a bold, looping shape reminis...
About the Artist
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was born on July 22, 1898, in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of sculptors spanning three generations: his grandfather Alexander Milne Calder created the colossal bronze William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall, and his father Alexander Stirling Calder was a celebrated monumental sculptor. Despite this lineage, Calder first pursued mechanical engineering at Stevens Institute ...