Calder's Mountains and Clouds in Hart Senate Building Restored, Mobile to Move Again
A major restoration is underway for Mountains and Clouds, the colossal Alexander Calder sculpture that dominates the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The Calder Foundation announced on Thursday that the project will, for the first time, enable the artwork's mobile to move as the artist originally intended.
Calder designed the two-part sculpture, which he described as an "aesthetic equilibrium," shortly before his death in 1976. It was installed in the Hart building a decade later. The work consists of a 51-foot-tall stationary stabile, commonly referred to as the "mountains," and a 75-foot-wide hanging mobile known as the "clouds."
According to the Calder Foundation, the mobile never operated as Calder envisioned because the engineering technology and materials available at the time were insufficient. By 1992, it had stopped moving altogether, and in 2014 it was taken down.
The $12 million restoration involves rebuilding the mobile using advanced engineering and technology. The foundation said the project is part of a "historic public-private initiative" financed by philanthropists Jon and Kim Shirley, and emphasized that it "came at no cost to taxpayers." Completion is expected later this year.
"This restoration project will allow visitors from across the United States and around the world, as well as the Senators and staffers who work in Hart, to experience Mountains and Clouds as Calder envisioned, with the work's mobile and stabile in poetic, dynamic dialogue," the foundation said in a statement.
The foundation also noted that with the mobile back in place, the atrium will again function as a living civic space where the public can encounter a major American artwork.
Lawmakers from both parties, many of whom supported the decade-long effort, welcomed the restoration. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said, "Mountains and Clouds is an American work of art that has been a part of the Hart Building for four decades," adding that the restoration highlights the value of preserving the art and history of the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said, "The Hart Building belongs to the American people, and so does the art within it." He added that once the restoration is complete, every visitor—whether attending a hearing, taking a tour, or just passing through—will be able to experience an icon of American art history.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) noted that Calder's work stands outside his offices in both Washington and Chicago, but said that for too long half of the story of Mountains and Clouds had been missing. He thanked the Shirleys and the Calder Foundation, and said the sculpture will once again be experienced by the public as Calder intended.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) recalled that when he became chairman of the Rules Committee, a colleague's first request was, "Can we rehang the clouds?" He said that although it has taken more than a decade, the answer is now yes.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that soon Americans traveling to the Senate from across the country will be greeted by the masterpiece in its restored glory. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) called the sculpture one of the nation's most significant works of public art and said it had stood incomplete for decades in the U.S. Senate. "I'm thrilled that the restoration of Alexander Calder's Mountains and Clouds is moving forward," King said, "and that the 'Clouds' have returned to Hart."
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