Wikipedia / Alexander Stirling Calder
Wikipedia / Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder (January 11, 1870 – January 7, 1945) was an American sculptor and art teacher. He won a silver medal at the World's Fair of 1904 for his statue of Philip François Renault and led the sculpture program for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition after the death of Karl Bitter. His notable works include the Samuel Gross statue, George Washington on the Washington Square Arch in New York City, the Swann Memorial Fountain in Philadelphia, the Depew Memorial Fountain in Indianapolis, and the Leif Erikson Memorial in Reykjavík, Iceland.
He taught sculpture at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art, the Throop Polytechnic Institute, and the National Academy of Design. His father, Alexander Milne Calder, and son Alexander Calder were also sculptors.
Early life and education
Calder was born on January 11, 1870, in Philadelphia, the oldest of six boys, to sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and Margaret Stirling. He attended city public schools and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Fall 1885, at age 15. He studied under Thomas Eakins for several months, until the teacher's forced resignation in February 1886. Calder remained at PAFA, studying under Thomas Anshutz and James P. Kelly. Two of his sculptures were accepted for PAFA's 1887 annual exhibition, a rare honor for a student. He worked from 1889 to 1890 as a demonstrator of anatomy at the academy and graduated in 1890.
His father designed and was then in the midst of executing, the extensive sculpture program for Philadelphia City Hall. Calder worked as an apprentice on the project during the summers, and is reported to have modeled an arm for one of the figures. He made his first trip to Europe in Summer 1889, and returned there to study the following year.
Calder moved to Paris with Charles Grafly in Fall 1890, and studied at the Académie Julian under Henri Michel Chapu. The following year, he was accepted at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he entered the atelier of Alexandre Falguière.
Career
In 1892, he returned to Philadelphia and began his career as a sculptor in earnest. His first major commission, won in a national competition, was for the Samuel Gross statue for the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Another early commission was for a set of twelve statues of Presbyterian clergymen for the facade of the Witherspoon Building in Philadelphia.
He worked as an instructor in modeling at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art from 1900 to 1906. In 1904, he won a silver medal at the World's Fair of 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, for his statue of Philip François Renault.
He suffered from tuberculosis and moved to Arizona in 1906 to recover his health. After his health recovered, he moved to Pasadena, California, and his family joined him. In Pasadena, he modeled architectural sculpture for the Throop Polytechnic Institute (now the California Institute of Technology). He returned to the east coast in 1910 and settled in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. He taught at the National Academy of Design from 1910 to 1917 and was elected an academician in 1913.
He was placed in charge of the sculpture program for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California, after the death of Karl Bitter. He obtained a studio in New York City and employed the services of model Audrey Munson who posed for him as the model for the Star Maiden statue. For the exposition, Calder completed three massive sculpture groups, The Nations of the East and The Nations of the West, which crowned triumphal arches, and a fountain group, The Fountain of Energy. Following Bitter's sudden death in April 1915, Calder completed the Depew Memorial Fountain in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Calder were commissioned to create sculptures for the Washington Square Arch in New York City. George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Accompanied by Fame and Valor (1914–1916) was sculpted by MacNeil; and George Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice (1917–18) by Calder. These are sometimes referred to as Washington at War and Washington at Peace.
He sculpted a number of ornamental works for Villa Vizcaya, the James Deering estate outside Miami, Florida. These included the famous Italian Barge (1917–1919), a stone folly in the shape of a boat, projecting into Biscayne Bay.
He taught at the Art Students League of New York from 1918 to 1922.
Two of his major commissions of the 1920s were the Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Circle, and the architectural sculpture program for the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
He was one of a dozen sculptors invited to compete in Oklahoma's Pioneer Woman statue competition in 1926–27, which was won by Bryant Baker. In 1927, he was also commissioned by the Berkshire Museum to sculpt the woodwork and fountain of the museum's Ellen Crane Memorial Room in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
In 1929, he won the national competition for a monumental statue of Leif Eriksson, to be the gift of the United States to Iceland in commemoration of the 1000th anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament.
Personal life
Calder married portrait painter Nanette Lederer on February 22, 1895, and they lived in Philadelphia for the first decade of their marriage. They had two children: Margaret Calder Hayes and Alexander Calder.
Calder died on January 7, 1945, and was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Legacy
Works from Alexander Stirling Calder will be displayed at a new museum under construction for his son's work in Philadelphia.
Selected works
Title | Image | Year | Location/GPS Coordinates | Material | Height | Notes |
1895–1897 | Thomas Jefferson University,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | bronze | Posthumous portrait of Dr. Gross, based on Thomas Eakins's 1875 painting.From 1897 to 1970, the statue stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.: | |||
Bust of Major General John F. Hartranft | 1898 | Smith Memorial Arch,West Fairmount Park,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | bronze | Gen. Hartranft was a U.S. Medal of Honor recipient for the First Battle of Bull Run. | ||
Class of 1892 Drinking Fountain(The Scholar and the Football Player) | 1900 | Quadrangle Dormitories,University of Pennsylvania,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, | bronze | Located under the arch at the top of the North Steps. | ||
Overmantel frieze: The Boar Hunt | 1900 | Keil Hall,Mercersburg Academy,Mercersburg, Pennsylvania | carved oak | Modeled by Calder, carved by John J. Maene. | ||
Sewell CrossMajor General William Joyce Sewell Monument | 1901 | Harleigh Cemetery,Camden, New Jersey | green granite | Modeled by Calder, carved by Leland & Hall Company.Gen. Sewell was a U.S. Medal of Honor recipient for the Battle of Chancellorsville.Calder was awarded PAFA's 1905 Walter Lippincott Prize for the Sewell Cross. | ||
Man Cub: "Sandy" Calder at Age 3 | 1901–02 | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | plaster(original lost) | PAFA purchased Calder's plaster original in 1905, and used it to make a 1906 bronze cast.The plaster was either returned to Calder or lost (by 1941).A 1922 bronze cast is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. | ||
Sundial | 1903–1905 | Fairmount Park Horticultural Center,West Fairmount Park,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | marble | Located in the Sunken Gardens: | ||
Missouri: The Queen of Rivers | 1904 | Louisiana Purchase Exposition,St. Louis, Missouri | plaster | Calder won a silver medal for his sculpture at the 1904 World's Fair. | ||
plaster | ||||||
Calder CrossWilliam Hickman Harte Memorial Cross | 1905 | Chippiannock Cemetery,Rock Island, Illinois | granite | Master William Hickman Harte was a Union naval officer who died in the June17, 1862 Battle of Saint Charles, following the sinking of the USS Mound City.Fifty years later, Harte's son located his Arkansas grave, and commissionedthis cenotaph for their home town cemetery. | ||
Henry Charles Lea Monument | 1911 | Laurel Hill Cemetery,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | bronze | Henry Charles Lea was a noted historian.The seated figure is Clio, the Muse of History: | ||
Stretching Girl | 1911 | National Academy of Design,Manhattan, New York City | bronze | Calder's NAD diploma piece, presented following his election as an Academicianin 1913. Robert Henri painted Calder's NAD diploma portrait.Another bronze cast is at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Artin Bentonville, Arkansas. | ||
An American Stoic: Portrait of Najinyankte | 1912 | Rhode Island School of Design Museum,Providence, Rhode Island | bronze | A standing Sioux man wrapped in a blanket. | ||
Star Maiden | 1913–1915 | Oakland Museum,Oakland, California | bronze | The Star Maidens were balustrade figures surrounding the Court of the Universe: | ||
Fountain of Energy (destroyed) | 1913–1915 | Panama–Pacific International Exposition,San Francisco, California | "Energy, the Lord of the Isthmian Way, rides grandly upon the earth. Hisoutstretched arms have severed the lands and let the waters pass. Uponhis mighty shoulders stand Fame and Glory, heralding the coming of aconqueror. Energy, the Power of the Future, the Superman, approaches." | |||
The globe featured a large reclining female figure with the head of a lioness,The Eastern Hemisphere, and a large reclining male figure with the head ofa bull, The Western Hemisphere: | ||||||
4 sculpture groups were clustered around the globe:The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean, The North Sea, The South Sea | ||||||
12 Nerieds riding dolphins were spaced around the pool's perimeter: | ||||||
The Nations of the East (destroyed) | 1913–1915 | atop The Arch of the Rising Sun,Panama–Pacific International Exposition,San Francisco, California | staff | |||
The Nations of the West (destroyed) | 1913–1915 | atop The Arch of the Setting Sun,Panama–Pacific International Exposition,San Francisco, California | staff | Crowning figure: Enterprise | ||
Central figure: The Mother of Tomorrow | ||||||
1915–1917 | bronze | Crowning figure: | Calder completed this commission following sculptor Karl Bitter's 1915 death.Bitter's 1915 maquette for the fountain: | |||
George Washington as President,Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice | 1917–18 | Washington Square Arch,Washington Square,Manhattan, New York City | marble | Sometimes called Washington at Peace.Hermon Atkins MacNeil modeled Washington at War (1914–16).The pair flank the north side of the arch. | ||
The Great Stone Barge(Delights and Terrors of the Sea) | 1917–1919 | "Villa Vizcaya" (James Deering estate),Coconut Grove, Florida | limestone | Calder's barge sculptures were criticized for being "excessively erotic."The eroded sculptures were used to cast concrete replicas in 1981. | ||
Garden sculpture |
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The Little Dear with the Tiny Black Swan(Leda and the Swan) | 1918–1921 | Denver Art Museum,Denver, Colorado | bronze | A version is a promised gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. | ||
Swann Memorial Fountain(Fountain of Three Rivers) | 1920–1924 | Logan Circle,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | bronze | Central figures: | Wilson Eyre, architect.The female allegorical figures represent the Schuylkill River and theWissahickon Creek.The male Lenni Lenape figure represents the Delaware River. | |
Naiad with Tragic MaskModel for a Fountain | 1920 | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | painted plaster | A bronze cast is at the Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.A larger plaster version is at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey. | ||
Scratching Her Heel | 1921 | Metropolitan Museum of Art,Manhattan, New York City | bronze | Another bronze cast is at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia. | ||
The Last Dryad | 1921 | Philadelphia Museum of Art,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | plaster | A 1926 bronze cast is at the University of California, Berkeley. | ||
Shakespeare Memorial(Tragedy and Comedy, Hamlet and the Fool) | 1923–1926 | In front of the Free Library of Philadelphia,Logan Square,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | bronze | Gilbert McIlvaine, architectTouchstone and Prince Hamlet:Another bronze cast is at Brookgreen Gardens. | ||
Head of George Bellows | 1925 | Conner-Rosenkranz Gallery,Manhattan, New York City | plaster | A bronze cast is at the New York Historical Society. | ||
Our Lady and the Holy Child(A Study in French Gothic Style) | 1926 | St. Mary's of Redford Church,Detroit, Michigan | marble | Located in a niche behind the High Altar. | ||
Pioneer Woman (Self-Reliant) | 1926–27 | Woolaroc Museum,Bartlesville, Oklahoma | bronze | One of twelve bronze models created by American sculptors for the 1927Pioneer Woman statue competition. Bryant Baker won the commission.His heroic-sized Pioneer Woman was dedicated in 1930, in Ponca City, Oklahoma.Calder received a $10,000 honorarium for his model. | ||
Bust of John James Audubon | 1927 | Hall of Fame for Great Americans,Bronx Community College,Bronx, New York City | bronze | |||
1929–1932 | Hallgrímskirkja Cathedral,Reykjavík, Iceland | bronze | Gift of the United States commemorating the 1000th anniversary of thefounding of the Althing, Iceland's parliament.The statue appeared on a U.S. postage stamp and an Icelandic coin.Calder's plaster model is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.A bronze cast is at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.View from the cathedral's tower, looking west to the Atlantic Ocean: | |||
Cruel Nature: Self-Portrait at Age 60 | 1930 | National Portrait Gallery,Washington, D.C. | terra cotta | |||
Robert Henri: The Painter-Teacher with theGift of Friendship(Posthumous Bust of Robert Henri) | 1934 | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | plaster(unlocated) | Calder and Henri (1865–1929) had been friends since 1885, when both were first-yearstudents at PAFA.Calder's widow had a bronze cast made of the bust in 1947, which she donated to PAFA. | ||
Posthumous Bust of John Singer Sargent | 1934 | Bronx Community College,Bronx, New York City | plaster | |||
Introspection | 1935 | plaster | ||||
Continental Post Rider | 1936 | William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building,Washington, D.C. | aluminum | |||
Bust of William Penn | 1936 | Hall of Fame for Great Americans,Bronx Community College, Bronx, New York City | bronze | |||
Nature's Dance(The Dance of Life) | 1938 | Brookgreen Gardens,Murrells Inlet, South Carolina | Indiana limestone | |||
Bishop William White | 1940 | Washington Memorial Chapel,Valley Forge, Pennsylvania | bronze | The Right Reverend White was the first bishop of the American Episcopal Church.Calder's last major commission. | ||
Bust of Winston Churchill | 1943 | plaster | Inscription: "HAVE FAITH, HAVE HOPE, DELIVERANCE IS SURE." JULY 14, 1941. |
Architectural sculpture
Twelve cast stone figures of Presbyterian clergymen, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1898–99, Joseph Miller Huston, architect.
Six of the figures were removed in 1961, and relocated to the garden of the Presbyterian Historical Society.
Six spandrel figures, cast concrete, Throop Polytechnic Institute (now California Institute of Technology), Pasadena, California, 1906–1909, Myron Hart & Elmer Grey, architects.
Nature and Art, Energy and Law, Science and Imagination
Oakland Civic Auditorium, Oakland, California, 1914, John J. Donovan, architect.
The Riches of the Earth – Seven terra cotta, half-domed friezes within the arched entrances.Category:Riches of the Earth (1915) by Alexander Stirling Calder – Wikimedia Commons
Missouri State Capitol, Jefferson City, Missouri, 1924, Tracy and Swartwout, architects.
South Frieze, limestone, x , depicts Missouri history in 13 bas relief panels. The frieze flanks the tops of the central portico's columns and continues behind them.
North Frieze, limestone, bas relief panels depict Native Americans and Europeans. The frieze flanks the tops of the central columns and continues inside the curved portico.
Four figures of famous actresses, marble, I. Miller Building, Broadway and West 46th Street, Manhattan, New York City, 1927–1929:
Sculpture program for University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, completed 1931, Wilson Eyre, Frank Miles Day, and Cope & Stewardson, architects:
Lion's Head Fountain (1920s).
Peacock doorway (1920s).
Youth doorway (1920s).
Gateposts (1920s): Asia, Africa, Europe, America
Medallions
Life as a Dance (1938), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, New York City
References
Citations
Sources
Fairmount Park Art Association, Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze and Stone, Walker Publishing Co., Inc, New York. NY 1974
Falk, Peter Hastings, ed., Who was Who in American Art, Sound View Press, Madison Connecticut, 1985
Gadzinski, Cunningham, Panhorst et al., American Sculpture in the Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1997
Opitz, Glenn B ed., Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986
Proske, Beatrice Gilman, Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture, Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina, 1968
Further reading
Bach, Penny Balkin, Public Art in Philadelphia, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992
Calder, A. Sterling, Thoughts of A. Stirling Calder on Art and Life, Privately published, New York, 1947
Craven, Wayne, Sculpture in America, University of Delaware Press, 1984
Hayes, Margaret Calder Three Alexander Calders, Paul S Eriksson Publisher, Middlebury, Vermont, 1977
External links