A significant Alexander Calder sculpture that previously sold from the renowned Gerald Fineberg collection is making its way back to the art market at Art Basel Paris next month. Gladstone Gallery will present "Caged Stone on Yellow Stalk" (circa 1955), a standing mobile that last appeared at auction in May 2023, priced at $5.5 million.
Calder is currently experiencing a remarkable surge in institutional recognition and market performance. The highly anticipated Calder Gardens will open in Philadelphia next week, while the Whitney Museum in New York is preparing to launch an exhibition celebrating the centennial of Calder's famous "Circus" series (1926-31) next month. This institutional momentum coincides with an exceptionally strong market performance for the artist's work, which has shown remarkable resistance to the current art market downturn.
Market data from this year demonstrates Calder's exceptional stability in the auction world. All 13 Calder works that sold for over $1 million at auction in 2024 achieved prices within or above their pre-sale estimates. The year's most expensive sale was "Gypsophila" (1949), which Christie's New York sold for $8.5 million from the collection of Anne and Sid Bass in May, exceeding its $6 million to $8 million estimate.
Last year's performance was equally impressive, with 11 out of 12 lots selling for over $1 million meeting or exceeding their pre-sale estimates. The highest price achieved was "Blue Moon" (1962), which sold for $14.4 million at Sotheby's New York against a $10 million high estimate. This figure represents just over half of Calder's auction record, set in 2014 when Christie's sold the 1957 sculpture "Poisson volant" (Flying Fish) for $25.9 million.
Veteran art adviser Todd Levin praised Calder's market performance, describing it as having "one of the highest sell-through rates of any artist." This achievement is particularly notable given the frequency with which Calder works appear at auction and the artist's prolific output. "Calder's market is one of the most bullet-proof and recession-proof markets, on a case-by-case basis, of any artist that exists," Levin explained in a phone interview. "That market has proved itself over many, many decades."
Levin attributes the market's strength to several factors: "The fact that the supply is as large as it is, the quality of the work is so high, and the demand for the work is so high, the sell-through rate continues to be truly exceptional." When Calder works do fail to sell at auction, he noted, it's typically due to serious condition issues or authenticity concerns.
The upcoming Art Basel Paris presentation centers on "Caged Stone on Yellow Stalk," a work created during a particularly productive period after Calder moved to his new studio in Saché, France. The piece last sold at Christie's during the Gerald Fineberg collection sale in May 2023, an event that many market observers consider the beginning of the current market downturn. At that time, the work was estimated at $4 million to $6 million but sold for $3.2 million. Another Calder from the same sale achieved $2.6 million against a $2.5 million low estimate.
"The market had already jumped the shark at that point, in terms of its current behavior," Levin commented on the timing of the Fineberg sale. Despite the previous sale's performance, Gladstone Gallery has priced the work at $5.5 million, betting that market conditions have stabilized and the piece's value aligns with Christie's original estimate range.
Max Falkenstein, senior partner at Gladstone Gallery, expressed enthusiasm about the presentation. "The Calder will be a wonderful addition to our presentation at Art Basel Paris, and its inclusion reflects the kind of curatorial rigor that has always been central to Gladstone's philosophy," he told ARTnews in an email. "We are proud to present this work as a testament to the enduring significance of Calder's legacy and his continued influence on contemporary artists."
The sculpture bears similarities to an earlier work, "Yellow Stalk with Stone" (1953), which is a promised gift to the Seattle Art Museum from major Calder collectors Jon Shirley and his late wife Mary Shirley. The Shirley family has been significant supporters of Calder's legacy, with Jon Shirley and his second wife Kim recently donating an additional 48 Calder works to the Seattle Art Museum.
However, some market experts remain skeptical about the aggressive pricing strategy. Levin expressed concerns about the gallery's expectations, stating, "You can't buy something publicly at auction for $3 and change, and turn around two years later, in this particular market that we're dealing in, and offer that at $5.5, and think sensibly that that's even in the realm of anything other than foolishness." He characterized an expectation of a 40-percent return within two years in the current art market as "just a fool's errand."
The reappearance of this significant Calder work will serve as an important test case for the current state of the art market and the continued strength of Calder's commercial appeal. As institutional recognition of the artist continues to grow with major exhibitions and new cultural spaces dedicated to his work, the market response to "Caged Stone on Yellow Stalk" at Art Basel Paris will provide valuable insights into collector confidence and pricing strategies in the post-pandemic art world.
