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Alexander Calder — The Needle
Alexander Calder — The Needle
Alexander Calder — The Needle
Alexander Calder

The Needle

1973

This kinetic mobile sculpture features a bold red painted steel base supporting an asymmetrical composition of suspended elements. Delicate curved arms extend outward in various directions, from which sheet metal forms in black and cream tones hang at different heights. The organic, leaf like shapes and precisely balanced counterweights exemplify the principles of modernist abstraction and movement. The work demonstrates the interplay between stability and motion, with its carefully engineered structure allowing the suspended elements to shift and rotate in response to air currents.

Medium
sheet metal, wire and paint
Overall

Notes

Contemporary Day Auction, Sotheby's, sale on 2026-05-15.

🔨 Auction Lot

Contemporary Day Auction

May 15, 2026

Estimate: $600,000$800,000

For Sale

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About this work

Alexander Calder, The Needle, 1973

This kinetic mobile sculpture features a bold red painted steel base supporting an asymmetrical composition of suspended elements. Delicate curved arms extend outward in various directions, from which sheet metal forms in black and cream tones hang at different heights. The organic, leaf like shapes and precisely balanced counterweights exemplify the principles of modernist abstraction and movement. The work demonstrates the interplay between stability and motion, with its carefully engineered structure allowing the suspended elements to shift and rotate in response to air currents.

Medium
sheet metal, wire and paint
Dimensions
overall: 40.6 x 76.2 x 8.9 cm
Year
1973
Seen at
Sotheby's, New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris

Related themes

Red Steel Base, Minimalist Design, Balanced Composition, Hanging Forms, Sheet Metal Sculpture, Contemporary Sculpture, Movement Art, Geometric Abstraction, Kinetic Mobile, Abstract Modernism

More works by Alexander Calder

Collected by

Alex Capecelatro, Sebastián In Situ, Jonathan Murray, Hamilton Selway Gallery