Original gouache and ink, 1962, on BFK Rives wove paper with watermark, hand signed and dated ‘Calder 62’ at the centre right of the image, sheet: 73.6 x 104 cm. (29 x 40.9 in.)

One of the smallest creatures of the sea, the seahorse was an emblematic motif for Calder. The significance of which can be traced to the early 20th-century fascination with these mythical looking animals. This fascination was established by the cutting edge cinematography of Jean Painlevé, who captured underwater footage of their behaviour.

The filmmaker was a close friend of Calder and even recorded on film one of Calder’s ‘Circus’ performances. The two men met at the home of Augustin Hamon, who encouraged revolutionary artists and scientists to mix freely and debate radical ideas.

Aside from the fashion for seahorses across all elements of design - from jewellery to art – the principles of the spiral, or swirl endeared this creature to Calder’s heart. It featured heavily in his works on paper and in his lithography as a strong motif of the sea. Its movement appearing to be effortless, as captured so incredulously in scenes from Painlevé’s 1934 masterpiece ‘L’Hippocampe ou Cheval Marin’.