Stabiles to staycations

ALEXANDER CALDER (1898–1976) is most widely known for his perfectly balanced painted disc mobiles, which could be considered the ideal evolution of the executive toy into art—or, perhaps, even described as Abstract art given wings. It was a visit to Mondrian’s studio in 1930 that converted the French-based American from figurative sculpture, such as mechanical wire circuses, which he had been making at the suggestion of a toy seller. The first mobiles were also kinetic,