It was in the early 1930s that Alexander Calder invented ‘mobiles’, a term coined by Marcel Duchamp for Calder’s kinetic sculptures. At the same time, he created immobile abstract works, which Jean Arp described as ‘stabiles’. The chronological layout of this exhibition follows the development of Calder’s vast oeuvrethrough four main themes: the studio and the circus; the start of abstraction; mobiles and stabiles; and public art.
English aircraft manufacturer Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe riding his Avro Mobile, which he invented, at Southampton. June 1924. Kirby/Topical Press Agency.