Cat

This sculpture’s simple, rough hewn carving belies its sophisticated ability to convey the essential nature of a cat. A winding outline suggests its lanky fluid motion, and the full tail suggests the feline ability to balance. The large paws and almond eyes represent its rapacious hunting skills, and the animal’s easy repose conveys its independence. The carver, Alexander Calder, often embraced such simplified, charming productions. He was spending the summer with friends on a farm in Peekskill, New York, when he took found wood and worked “on an upturned water trough and carved the wooden horse . . . a cow, a giraffe, a camel, two elephants, another cat, several circus figures.”