Arcana:

(CALDER, ALEXANDER). Sweeney, James Johnson. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1951. First Edition. Small 4to. Illustrated Boards in Jacket. Artist Monograph. Very Good/Very Good -. 80pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. With a chronology, exhibition history, collections listing, filmography and bibliography. This is the catalogue published in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art's comprehensive 1951 Alexander Calder retrospective exhibition. It features a text by curator James Johnson Sweeney accompanied by reproductions of sculpture, mechanized works, mobiles, stabiles, drawings, jewelry, previous gallery installations, and more. A most presentable example of the hardbound first printing additionally bearing the BOLDLY SIGNED PRESENTATION "Mit freundlichsten grussen / fur der / guten freund / Bruno E. Werner / Sandy Calder / Washington D.C. / 25 Jan, '58" in his inimitable script in blue ink across the entire title page showing some overall wear to the book and its dust jacket as well as a mild dent through the upper foredge tip of the boards and textblock. Bruno Walter was a well-known German writer, art critic, and diplomat who served as his country's cultural attaché in Washington from 1952 through 1961. The date of the inscription coincides with the January 25th, 1958 opening of the artist's one-man exhibition as the twenty-seventh installment of the Corcoran Gallery's "Contemporary American Artists Series". Inventory Number: 024455