Existing comment:
Commissioning the Sculpture:
In 1975 when the Hart Senate Office Building was under construction, Alexander Calder and four other artists were invited to submit proposals to create a contemporary work for the central atrium. During the selection process, Calder submitted a sketch and maquette of the concept he called Mountains and Clouds. His innovative design was accepted.
After the artist's untimely death, budgetary considerations nearly eliminated the project. However, New Jersey Senator Nicholas Brady formed a foundation that raised the necessary funds. Mountains and Clouds was finally installed in 1986, ten years after Calder's death.
For more information, please visit www.senate.gov/art
"To most people who look at a mobile, it's more than a series of flat objects that move. To a few, though, it may be poetry."
-- Alexander Calder |