Bio on Alexander Stirling Calder

Alexander Stirling Calder (1870-1945) was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Alexander Milne Calder (1846-1923) a Scottish-born sculptor, is best known for his design of models for the Philadelphia City Hall. The commission would last two decades of Milne Calder’s life and his son Stirling Calder gained his first hands-on experience on the project. From 1890-1892, Stirling Calder studied in the classical tradition in Paris at Académie Julian and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. Stirling Calder was the assistant chief sculpture for the sculpture program of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the 1915 World’s Fair held in San Fransisco when he was contacted for the commission of the Vizcaya Stone Barge. Calder's theme's for the sculptures at the World's Fair are reflected in the sculptures on the Stone Barge.

Alexander Stirling Calder’s son Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is the most remembered of the family, particularly as a result of his invention of the mobile.

Next Blog I'll post the Sculptures of the 1915 Worlds Fair and it's comparative sculpture on the Stone Barge.