Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum
Previous image 1 2 / 2 Next image

Alexander Calder

Tumblers with Spectators

Maker

Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)

Title

Tumblers with Spectators

Year

1931-1932

Medium

  • ink and crayon on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • ink and crayon on paper

Materials

colored ink, crayon

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

48.6 x 63.3 cm (19 1/8 x 24 15/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed in LR corner:Calder

Credit / Object Number

Credit

The Albert Pilavin Memorial Collection of 20th Century American Art: gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irving J. Fain

Object Number

69.205

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Publications

  • Books

The Albert Pilavin Collection: Twentieth-Century American Art, II

CIRC copy gift of Murray S. Danforth, Jr. ; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Caroll Silver

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 3: Circus

Exhibition History

Circus
Aug 01, 2014 – Feb 22, 2015

Label copy

American artist Alexander Calder lived in Paris between 1926 and 1933, a transformative time during which he created Calder’s Circus, a two-hour long, multi-act performance featuring mechanized sculptures on a miniaturized scale, and made wire sculptures of acrobats and other circus performers. Calder’s drawings between 1931 and 1932 display a line quality similar to that of his wire sculptures; each figure in Tumblers with Spectators appears to be composed of a single line, as though fashioned out of wire, endowing the acrobats with infinite flexibility. This drawing also mimics the transparency of the sculptures, making visible the line between the floor and the wall through the performers’ bodies.

Figurative Tradition in Sculpture
Jun 23, 1983 – Sep 03, 1983
Albert Pilavin Collection
Twentieth Century American Art II
Oct 23, 1973 – Nov 25, 1973
Selection 1
American Watercolors and Drawings from the Museum's Collection
Dec 30, 1971 – Jan 23, 1972

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)
Tumblers with Spectators, 1931-1932
Ink and crayon on paper
48.6 x 63.3 cm (19 1/8 x 24 15/16 inches)
The Albert Pilavin Memorial Collection of 20th Century American Art: gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irving J. Fain 69.205

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Main Navigation

  • Visit

    • Hours & Admission
    • Accessibility & Amenities
    • Tours & Group Visits
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • Art & Design

    • Collection Research
    • Collection
    • Past Exhibitions
  • Join / Give

    • Become a Member
    • Give
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Watch / Listen / Read

    • The Latest
    • Publications
    • Articles
    • Audio & Video

Footer Secondary Navigation

  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use
Tickets
Homepage
Go to the risd.edu homepage. This link will open in a new window.