Maquette, Mountains and Clouds

This small-scale model, or maquette, played a significant role in the building of Mountains and Clouds. After studying a model of the Hart Senate Office Building atrium, Alexander Calder drew a simple sketch and created this maquette. The artist planned the full-size Mountains and Clouds sculpture specifically for placement in the Hart atrium.

On November 10, 1976, Calder visited Washington, D.C., to finalize the placement of Mountains and Clouds, using this maquette. After making minor adjustments to two of the clouds, he expressed satisfaction with the maquette as positioned in a model of the atrium. That evening, after returning to New York City, Calder died of a heart attack. Foundry workers relied on the maquette to guide the building of Mountains and Clouds for the Hart atrium, since the artist did not make any scale drawings or blueprints. This maquette was reproduced full-size in as faithful a form as possible by two workshops that had fabricated some of Calder’s monumental works during his lifetime.