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The Whirling Ear

The Whirling Ear is a 1958 sculpture by Alexander Calder installed in Brussels. Made of sheet metal and paint, it is motorized and was originally commissioned to stand in a water basin in front of the American pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World Exhibition. The work was built by Gowan & Knight Co. in Watertown, using an enlarged version of Calder’s model, with an steel base and a rotating section of welded aluminum sheets. After the Expo, it was left rusting and forgotten before being recovered and restored. Since 2000, it has been installed on Rue Montagne de la Cour, between Mont des Arts and Place Royale.

The Whirling Ear sculpture rising from a dark base in a shallow circular pool of water.
The Whirling Ear stands in a reflective pool, shown here in stark black and white.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Whirling Ear sculpture rises from a fountain, with historic buildings behind it on a city street.
The Whirling Ear by Alexander Calder stands in a fountain amid the historic architecture of central Brussels.
2009 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Whirling Ear sculpture in a circular fountain in a public plaza, with a city spire in the background.
The Whirling Ear rises from a circular fountain in a public plaza, with city buildings and a distant spire behind it.
May 2026 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Whirling Ear sculpture in a circular plaza with people walking nearby and a city skyline in the background.
The Whirling Ear stands in a city plaza with pedestrians and distant spires behind it.
© · CC BY 3.0
The Whirling Ear sculpture rises from a circular basin beside an urban street scene.
The Whirling Ear sculpture stands in a city setting beside the street.
April 2019 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleThe Whirling Ear
TypeMonumental sculpture
French titleL'Oreille tournoyante

Creator

ArtistAlexander Calder

Historical context

Year of creation1958
Commissioned forthe American pavilion basin at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Exposition universelle de Bruxelles de 1958)
Site-specific statusCalder's only monumental piece created for a Belgian site

Physical characteristics

MovementMotorized rotating sculpture

Materials

MaterialsSheet metal and paint
Base materialSteel
Rotating part materialWelded aluminum sheets
Scale24 times larger than the wooden model

Discovery and provenance

Original project submissionA brief handwritten description and a static wooden model
FabricatorGowan & Knight Co., Watertown

Location and ownership

Current locationRue Montagne de la Cour, at the top of the Mont des Arts stairs, Brussels, Belgium
Original locationBrussels, Belgium
Original location contextInstalled in a basin of water in front of the American pavilion at the Brussels Expo

History and restoration

Post-Expo conditionBecame motionless when the Expo ended and the fountains stopped
DonationThe United States donated the sculpture to Belgium
Condition after donationLeft in place and rusted in a dry basin
Public neglectForgotten in Brussels and not mentioned during a 1960 artist exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts
Recovery requestThe Musées de Beaux-Arts asked the ministers of culture for permission to retrieve it
Transfer approvalThe request was approved
Removal from pedestalUnbolted from its concrete pedestal
Temporary storageTransferred to the reserves of the Royal Museum of Modern Art in Brussels
Transfer ratificationRatified in 1970
Restoration and reinstallation proposalIn 1995, the King Baudouin Foundation proposed moving it from storage to the museum square, in place of the statue of Charles de Lorraine
Final placement after restorationInstalled on Rue Montagne de la Cour after restoration
InaugurationInaugurated on an unspecified date