Moonbird 1966

Joan Miro’s “Moon Bird” reflects forms that can be found in Miro’s other paintings and sculptures. “Moon Bird” came to West 58th Street in 1994, replacing a Calder mobile which was declared to be dangerous to pedestrians. The site for the sculpture was chosen specifically to draw the pedestrian’s attention away from the unappealing sides of buildings exposed by the sloping facade of the Solow Building. The building’s owner, billionaire real-estate mogul Sheldon Solow, is an art collector and has a private gallery in the building. Solow’s collection reportedly has works by Caravaggio, but no one is certain since it is completely inaccessible to the public. There are several versions of “Moon Bird”: large bronzes are at MoMA and the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. A smaller version from 1946 is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.