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an old black and white photo of a sculpture in the middle of a fieldblack and white photograph of three men standing next to each otherblack and white photo of two men standing next to each other in front of a buildingblack and white photograph of a large building with a crane on top of itan old photo of a construction site with a cranean old black and white photo of a building with a large roofblack and white photo of a group of men standing in front of a building under constructiona silver reel with a yellow label on itblack and white photograph of two men in suits looking at a piece of paperblack and white photograph of a group of men working on a construction projectblack and white photograph of a man working on a plane in a factoryblack and white photo of a group of men standing in a factoryseveral men are working on a large piece of wood in a factorya group of men that are standing in front of a buildinga black and white photo of a man on a ladder in front of a tall buildingblack and white photo of a crane lifting a large structureblack and white photograph of a man lifting a truck with a cranea black and white photo of a boat being builtblack and white photo of a large ship in a body of waterblack and white photograph of a group of men in suits standing in front of a buildingblack and white photograph of a man giving a speech to a group of menblack and white photograph of a large metal sculpture in the middle of a parking lot
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
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Description
[Art] Three Discs or Calder’s Man, from Tours to Montreal, 1966–1967 A collection of photographic prints and a 16 mm film 50 black-and-white silver gelatine prints, 1966–1967, some taken by photographer J. Germain in Tours, stamps on the reverse, various sizes, 21.5 x 17 and 24 x 18 cm Photographic reportage covering the production and delivery of *The Man*, the largest stable ever designed by Alexander Calder, created in the workshops of Etbts Biémont: the design phase; assembly in the factory yard for the very first presentation to officials on 27 January 1967 in the presence of Alexander Calder, Pierre Dupuy, Commissioner of ‘Expo 67’, Jules Léger, Canadian Ambassador to France; Bernard Anthonioz, representing the Minister for Cultural Affairs, André Malraux; René Georges Thomas, Prefect of Indre-et-Loire; and Jacques Bazillon, Director of Etbts Biémont; dismantling; and loading onto the ship. A reel of 16 mm film entitled *The Calder Man*, 14 minutes, 1967, produced by International Nickel Co (Expo 67), preserved in its metal box. Provenance: the collection of Jacques Bazillon (1925–2008), director of the Biémont workshops in Tours, where the American sculptor Alexander Calder had around 130 of his monumental sculptures produced. The 1967 World Exhibition, commonly known as Expo 67, took place in Montreal under the unifying theme ‘Man and the Earth’. This historic event marked a turning point in Canada’s urban and cultural modernisation, prompting public institutions and major industrial companies to collaborate in shaping a new civic landscape. It was against this backdrop of technological progress and industrial patronage that the mining company International Nickel Company of Canada (INCO) commissioned the American artist Alexander Calder to create a monumental sculpture to adorn the entrance to the exhibition on Île Sainte-Hélène. To document the complex engineering, logistical challenges and fabrication of this colossal work, entitled Three Discs (also known as L’Homme or Man), INCO’s film subsidiary produced a 14-minute documentary film in 1967 entitled *The Calder Man*, directed by D. G. Hannaford. This visual record offers a rare behind-the-scenes account of the creation of one of Calder’s largest stabiles, revealing the crucial transition from the artist’s studio to the processes of large-scale metalworking industry. The film is structured around three main narrative strands: the conceptual process within Calder’s studio in Saché (Indre-et-Loire). Here, the viewer witnesses the evolution of the artist’s three-dimensional vision, from a small hand-crafted model made of sheet metal to an intermediate model in painted metal; the camera then moves into the heart of the Etablissements Biémont factory in Tours. It is here that the industrial transformation takes place. Hannaford’s camera lingers on the movements of the foundry workers as they cut, bend and assemble the structural elements. The footage also captures the first dry run of the structure in the factory yard, revealing the monumental silhouette of the sculpture before it was dismantled for transatlantic shipment. Finally, the documentary records the sea transport and final assembly at the exhibition site in Montreal. When Calder received a commission from the International Nickel Company of Canada (INCO) to create a monumental sculpture (a ‘stable’), Three Discs (Man), for Expo ’67, the artist had initially envisaged creating the sculpture in nickel in honour of his patron, but this proved technically impossible on the desired scale. Calder then turned to his usual material, steel, but for the first time in his career, he left the monumental work unpainted, thereby emphasising its materiality. Thus, *Man* is one of Calder’s largest stabiles and the only one that has not been painted. Standing 22 metres tall and comprising 102 sheets of stainless steel, nearly one kilometre of steel strips and 4,000 steel bolts, this monumental work was presented to the people of Montreal on 7 May 1967, the 325th anniversary of the city’s foundation. It was installed at the entrance to the Expo, on the Place de l’International Nickel, where the public arrived by metro to visit the event. Enclosed: Gwenfritz, black-and-white silver print, 18 x 24 cm, by J Germain, photographer in Tours; view of the abstract painted steel sculpture erected in the courtyard of the Biémont Works, now located at the Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and unveiled on 2 June 1969.
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Auction time 10/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
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