Member Preview Days for High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100
Alexander Calder, Lion Tamer, Lion and Cage, from Calder's Circus, 1926-31. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half of the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T.M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the De Witt Wallace Fund, Incorporated; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.34.1a-f. © 2025 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Tickets
All members are invited to these viewings. Be sure to review our up-to-date visitor policies before you head to the Museum.
Become a member today!
Join now to enjoy early access to exhibitions and events, unlimited free admission, guest privileges, and more.
Join nowLearn more about access services and programs.
Floor 8
Open to all members
October 16, 10:30 am–6 pm
October 17, 10:30 am–5 pm
Be among the first to explore High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100 during two days of Member Previews.
This exhibition celebrates the centennial of one of Alexander Calder’s most iconic works and one of the most beloved works in the Whitney’s collection, Calder’s Circus (1926–31). A touchstone for Calder’s artistic development, Calder’s Circus reveals his early fascination with movement, balance, suspense, and ephemerality—concepts that would shape his pioneering invention of the mobile and define his sculptural practice in the decades that followed.
Enjoy additional Preview access to the exhibition on October 16 during Member Night from 7:30–10 pm.