''Flying Dragon'' is a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

by Alexander Calder in the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

North Stanley McCormick Memorial Court (aka North Garden) north of the Art Institute of Chicago Building in the Loop community area of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It is a painted

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

plate

work of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

created in 1975 measuring 365 (H) x 579 (L) x 335 (W) cm (120 x 228 x 132 in.). It is painted in the signature "Calder Red" (which is also used in the nearby '' Flamingo'') and is intended to represent a

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

in flight.

Stabiles

Although Calder is better known for his mobile sculptures often called mobiles, in the later years of his life he produced stationary sculptures (also called stabiles). In 1975, Calder produced a series of ''Flying Dragon'' sculptures, one of which sold at auction at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

New York: Wednesday, May 10, 2006. Completed in 1975, the ''Flying Dragon'' is thought to be the final stabile that Calder personally created. He died less than a year later at the age of seventy-eight

Acquisition

A gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Port made this acquisition possible.

Notes

1975 sculptures Sculptures in the Art Institute of Chicago Outdoor sculptures in Chicago Sculptures by Alexander Calder Steel sculptures in Illinois Sculptures of insects Animal sculptures in Illinois Colossal statues in the United States {{US-sculpture-stub

Stabiles

Acquisition

See also

Notes