Executed in 1925, this group of drawings provides a glimpse into Alexander Calder’s early days as an artist, and specifically showcases his playful creativity. Dogs, and other animals, were a central subject in Calder’s body of work. In the winter of 1925, Calder would spend days in the Central Park and Bronx Zoos, creating brush drawings of animals. Originally gifted by the artist to Jane Davenport Harris de Tomasi, a close friend of the artist’s family, the present works have since remained in the same private collection since they were acquired over two decades ago. Some of them were created as preparatory drawings for the poem The P-CULIAR DOG or The Piddling Pup, written by Elmer E. Scott and published in New York in 1925. This was Calder’s first illustrated book, and a precursor to his famous Animal Sketching manual published a year later. This unique group of works on paper together illustrates a theme he explored throughout his career and later renowned sculptures, in a fun and peculiar way.