Alexander Milne Calder (August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) (MILL-nee) was a Scottish American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

best known for the architectural sculpture of

Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. ...

. Both his son,

Alexander Stirling Calder Alexander Stirling Calder (January 11, 1870 – January 7, 1945) was an American sculptor and teacher. He was the son of sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and the father of sculptor Alexander (Sandy) Calder. His best-known works are ''George Washi ...

, and grandson, Alexander "Sandy" Calder, became significant sculptors in the 20th century.

Biography

Alexander Milne Calder was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, the son of a tombstone carver. He began his career in Scotland, working for sculptor John Rhind, the father of sculptor

J. Massey Rhind John Massey Rhind (9 July 1860 – 1 January 1936) was a Scottish-American sculptor. Among Rhind's better known works is the marble statue of Dr. Crawford W. Long located in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington D.C. (1926). E ...

while attending the Royal Academy in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and worked on the

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...

. Calder emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1868 and settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where he studied with Joseph A. Bailly, and took classes (as would his son

) at the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appa ...

. In 1873, he was hired by architect John McArthur, Jr., to produce models for the sculptures adorning

. The commission required more than 250 marble and bronze pieces and took Calder twenty years to complete. That same year, Calder was commissioned by the forerunner of Philadelphia's current Association for Public Art, the Fairmount Park Art Association, to create an equestrian statue of Major General

George Gordon Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. He ...

for Fairmount Park. Then in 1875, he won the competition for the colossal (37 foot tall) bronze statue of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

that was to crown the new City Hall's tower. That portrait sculpture remains to this day the largest atop any building in the world.DK Travel, ''DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country'', Westminster: Penguin Random House, 2017, 74-5. Alexander Milne Calder is buried in

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring P ...

in suburban Philadelphia's

Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two sep ...

Notable works

architectural sculpture, John McArthur, Jr. architect, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1873 – 1893. *'' Major General George Gordon Meade'', West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1887. *''William Warner Tomb'',

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1889. *''William Penn'', 37-foot-tall statue atop

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, placed in 1894.

Images

File:Alex M Calder.jpg, William Warner Tomb,

(1889). File:73rd PA Infantry Monument.jpg, 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry monument,

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

. 1889 File:IndianFigureCityHallTowerc.1892.jpg,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Figure, prior to installation on City Hall, c. 1892. File:City Hall Philadelphia.jpg, Philadelphia City Hall in 1899. File:Phlcityhalldetail.jpg, South Portal. File:City Hall holiday.jpg, West Portal, illuminated with colored lights (2005). File:Philadelphia City Hall-zoom.JPG, ''

'' (1894), atop City Hall. File:BillyPenn.jpg, ''William Penn'' faces northeast, so the face is generally in shadow. File:Illustrated Souvenir of Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa. (1918) (14769096904).jpg, Equestrian statue of George Meade, Fairmount Park (1887)

Sources

*Bach, Penny Balkin, ''Public Art in Philadelphia'', Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992 *Craven, Wayne, ''Sculpture in America'', Thomas Y Crowell Co, NY, NY 1968 *Fairmount Park Association, ''Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze and Stone'', Walker Publishing Co., Inc, NY. NY 1974 *Hayes, Margaret Calder ''Three Alexander Calders'', Paul S Eriksson Publisher, Middlebury, Vermont, 1977 *Kvaran and Lockley, ''A Guide to Architectural Sculpture in America'', unpublished manuscript *Williams, Oliver P., ''County Courthouses of Pennsylvania: A Guide'', Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA 2001

References

External links

Biography at West Laurel Hill Cemetery web siteAlexander Milne Calder page at Philadelphia Public ArtPlaque honoring Alexander Milne Calder at Philadelphia Public Art
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, Alexander Milne 1846 births 1923 deaths Artists from Aberdeen American architectural sculptors Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Artists from Philadelphia 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American sculptors American male sculptors Sculptors from Pennsylvania 19th-century American male artists Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery