Poster for Abe Ribicoff
Alexander Calder (created by)
1974 (Date manufactured/created)
Lithograph
Lithograph. Late in life, Alexander Calder became deeply concerned with the array of critical, social and political issues facing America. In 1972, Calder, a longtime political activist, threw his weight as a global artist into the political arena by creating a poster for Democratic candidate Senator George McGovern for his failed presidential campaign against Richard Nixon. In his home state of Connecticut, he next created campaign posters for two Democratic candidates in 1974: Governor Abraham “Abe” Ribicoff and Toby Moffett who was running for U.S. Congress. In Abe Ribicoff’s senatorail re-election poster, Calder– best known for his dynamic sculptures and mobiles with their angular and amorphous shapes–employed stylized hand-drawn letters and curvilinear shapes in vibrant primary colors arranged about the candidate’s name, versus promoting attributes of the contestant. Ribicoff, the son of Polish immigrants, led a long and admired career in public life as Governor of Connecticut (1955-1961), Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1961- 62) under President John F. Kennedy, and U.S. Senator (1963-1981). The lifelong Democrat was Connecticut’s first and to date only Jewish governor.
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