Last summer during a trip to the South of France, my Mother and Aunt visited many galleries, historic sites and eclectic shops. In one such shop, they fell in love with a couple of colourful mobiles. The pieces seemed a blending of Alexander Calder’s bold shapes and Marc Chagall’s-stained glass works. They just had to have them!
Upon arriving home, they decided to do a bit of research. They discovered that indeed both Chagall and Miro were close family friends of Calder’s. And he was a very generous friend. He gave one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry to Teeny Duchamp, Bella Rosenfield (wife of Marc Chagall) and Georgia O’Keeffe. The latter’s becoming a staple part of her signature fashion. When Chagall’s wife died unexpectedly in 1944, Calder gifted him a mobile to “cheer him up in his solitude after Bella’s death.” It joins Calder’s own vocabulary of abstract forms with Chagall’s “phantasmagoria” all the flying figures that bubble up from the stories and legends of Chagall’s youth.
My Mother and Aunt decided to submit the pieces to The Calder Foundation for examination and registration in the Foundation's archive. The committee that performs examinations includes experts, scholars, museum curators, and members of the Calder family.
What an amazing surprise to be informed by the Foundation that the mobiles were indeed made by Alexander Calder. During a very brief period in the late 1950’s, inspired by Chagall’s work on the Metz Cathedral, Calder tried replacing his usual painted sheet metal with stained glass. While he enjoyed the experiment, he did not continue it for long.
We are so thrilled to share these unique works of 20th Century Modern Art with our West Shore community.

Est. $8-$12 Million at Auction

Alexader Calder

Late 1950's

I have worked with Stained glass off and on for decades, often creating my own designs. I thought it would be a fun challenge to imitate Calder’s amazing Kinetic sculptures in glass. I thoroughly enjoyed the process, if frustrating at times! And the research provided a wonderful window into the lives of some of my favourite artists. While the story of my Mother and Aunt is fabricated, we are going to be embarking on a “Girls” trip to Nice, France this coming June. (3 generations, including my daughter!) I am even more excited now to visit this part of the world which has inspired so much influential art.
Thank you for setting this theme/creative challenge! It’s been so much fun.

Copper Foil Stained Glass