A One-of-a-Kind Piece by Alexander Calder Stays Put on a Madison Avenue Sidewalk

We know Alexander Calder for his large-scale statue and mobile sculptures but New York City can also lay claim to Calder’s only terrazzo piece and possibly his only immobile sculpture.

On the sidewalk of 1014-1018 Madison Avenue between 78th and 79th streets, black and white tiles are arranged in zigzag and swirl patterns. Installed in 1970, the block was restored in 2002 with the support of the Calder Foundation and the New York City Landmarks Commission.

The location of the terrazzo sculpture is in honor of the three galleries on the block, all of whom represented Calder, a reminder of a time when the avant-garde art movement was still concentrated in the Upper East Side.

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