Alexander Calder and Artists of The Hamptons

Alexander Calder

 A sculpture by Alexander Calder sold at a Paris auction for more than $5.5 million on July 9th. The 11-foot tall sculpture is just one of many that are installed in France, where Calder went to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in 1926. Calder was born in Pennsylvania in 1898, and received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1919. He not only created sculptures and stabiles (the mobiles for which he is most well known), he also painted, made prints, jewelry, tapestries and rugs.

The Artists of the Hamptons

Winslow Homer was inspired by the beauty and serenity of The Hamptons in the early twentieth century. In the 1950s, many artists, like Calder, Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Jackson Pollack left their Manhattan studios to work, rest and play in in the little seaside villages on the east end of Long Island. In the 1950s through the 80s, Southampton Hospital was the only facility that served the area and many of the artists who were treated there, donated work to the hospital.

A few months ago, staff members at Southampton Hospital were trying to find space for ventilators and additional hospital beds during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. They opened the door to an old storeroom in the dialysis ward and discovered more than one hundred works by artists like de Kooning and Calder. The hospital will auction the works, with the proceeds going to both the hospital and the Southampton History Museum. Ellsworth Kelly and Roy Lichtenstein also sought refuge in The Hamptons.

In 1971, Andy Warhol bought an estate, consisting of five cottages, where he entertained fellow artists like Keith Haring and celebrities like Jacqueline Kennedy and John Lennon. Today, The Hamptons remain a serene escape for artists, where art galleries and collectors support the art community.

Alexander Calder and Artists of The Hamptons at Surovek Gallery

Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Alexander Calder, or any of the other fine art available at Surovek Gallery.