WASHINGTON — After more than a decade without its defining overhead feature, Alexander Calder’s “Mountains and Clouds” sculpture has been fully restored atop the Hart Senate Office Building. The 51-foot installation, originally completed in 1976 as Calder’s final work, combines a stable triangular base representing mountains with a mobile set of black aluminum clouds suspended above.

The clouds were removed shortly after a 2011 earthquake raised concerns regarding the safety and structural integrity of the mobile portion. Since then, the “mountains” stood alone beneath an empty ceiling, far from the artist’s intended presentation. Officials on Capitol Hill had taken down the hanging elements without public notice, a move that drew criticism from art advocates who saw it as a significant alteration to the seminal piece.

Christian Quilici, an independent art consultant who closely followed the sculpture’s condition, described the removal as a “mutilation of [Calder’s] final masterpiece.” He noted that the mobile and stabile components were designed to function as an integrated whole, highlighting the importance of the clouds to the overall effect.

On a clear autumn day last Saturday, contractors reinstalled four newly fabricated cloud sections atop the Hart building. Unlike the original aluminum, the new clouds are constructed from carbon fiber composite, a change intended to enhance durability while maintaining the original aesthetic. This restoration is part of a broader $12 million refurbishment project funded through private contributions aimed at preserving the sculpture for future generations.

The renewed "Mountains and Clouds" now stands as Calder envisioned, merging its abstract forms in the marble atrium of the Senate office building. The restoration offers not only a physical return of the clouds but also a symbolic revival of the artist’s final creative statement after years of absence and public debate over its preservation.