Alexander Calder is perhaps best known for his large, colorful sculpture, which incorporates elements of performance and chance as well as moments of humor into unique, dynamic structures. Calder was born in 1898 outside of Philadelphia to a successful, artistic family. His father and grandfather—both named Alexander Calder—were distinguished sculptors and his mother was a portrait painter. Calder enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City (1923-1925) and studied painting with John Sloan and George Luks, among others. While working as an illustrator on assignment at the zoo and circus, Calder discovered his facility for sketching animals; the subject of movement would become a lifelong passion.
In 1926 Calder went to Paris. Initially he created small, movable wood and wire figures, which he then assembled into a miniature circus complete with balancing acrobats and a roaring lion. He presented this work to live audiences in an early example of performance art. The popularity of Cirque Calder soon brought him in contact with other artistic innovators. In the early 1930s, impressed by the environmental installation of Piet Mondrian's painting studio, Calder turned fully to nonobjective art. Many of his early abstract sculptures were static, known as “stabiles,” but he soon began to introduce motors and articulated movements in his “mobiles.” Later Calder modified his designs to allow free-floating movement, powered only by air currents. These signature works incorporated Calder's interests in energy and kinetics.
By 1933 Calder had returned to the United States, where his abstract sculpture, both mobile and stationary, attracted considerable attention and acclaim. He settled in Connecticut and continued to produce innovative works on both a large and small scale. Beginning in the early 1950s Calder spent part of each year in France. In addition to the monumental sculptures that can be seen in the United States and Europe, Calder applied his dynamic and lyrical sense of design to media as diverse as metal jewelry and theater sets.