Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was an American sculptor and made his name with his three-dimensional kinetic sculptures, which Marcel Duchamp named “mobiles.” He came from a family of artists - his mother was a painter and both his father and grandfather were sculptors. His first exhibition of mobiles was held in 1932 and he exhibited all over the world in Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands in in 1954 the represented the USA at the Venice Biennale, winning the grand prize for sculpture.

Though Calder is best known for his mobiles, his diverse practice also encompassed standing sculpture, painting, set and costume design, large-scale public installation, and jewellery-making. As a tribute to Ben Shahn, Calder created this original lithographic poster. Ben Shahn, a Lithuanian-born American artist, was a close friend of Calder's, and the two were part of a tight group of writers and artists in New York after World War II. This print is an example of a two-dimensional work where Calder, just as he would in one of his mobiles, gives a sense that the shapes are randomly arranged in space by chance.