Alexander Milne Calder
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Alexander Milne Calder
(b Aberdeen, 23 Aug 1846; d Philadelphia, PA, 14 June 1923). Sculptor. The son of a stone-cutter, he studied carving at the Royal Institute of Arts in Edinburgh and also in Paris and in London, where he later worked on the carving of the Albert Memorial. In 1868 he went to Philadelphia and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Thomas Eakins. In 1873 he began a 20-year project to design and execute sculptural decorations for Philadelphia's new City Hall. This is his most significant work, and the elaborate reliefs, statues and panels of statesmen and early settlers form perhaps the most ambitious decorative programme ever executed for a building by a single sculptor in the USA. The bronze statue of William Penn (over 11 m high), placed on top of City Hall in 1894, is a well-known landmark in Philadelphia and was until the 1980s the highest point in the city. Calder exhibited several figures and a carved stone panel (untraced) at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. Other notable works include a bronze portrait of General George Gordon Meade (Fairmount Park, Philadelphia) and the Hayden Memorial Geological Fund medal for the Academy of Natural Sciences (bronze, 1888).
Part of the Calder family
See the Abbreviations for further details.
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Alexander Milne Calder
| Alexander Milne Calder | |
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 Calder with the head of his statue of William Penn |
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| Born | August 23, 1846 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | June 4, 1923 (aged 76) Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Field | Sculpture |
| Training | Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts |
| Influenced by | J. Massey Rhind, Thomas Eakins |
Alexander Milne Calder (August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) was an American sculptor best known for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. Both his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, and grandson, Alexander "Sandy" Calder, were to become significant sculptors in the 20th century.
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Biography
Alexander Milne Calder was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of a tombstone carver. He began his career in Scotland, working for sculptor John Rhind, the father of sculptor J. Massey Rhind while attending the Royal Academy in Edinburgh. He moved to London and worked on the Albert Memorial. Calder immigrated to the United States in 1868 and settled in Philadelphia, where he studied with Joseph A. Bailly, and took classes (as would his son Alexander Stirling Calder) with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1873 he was hired by architect John McArthur, Jr. to produce models for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. The commission involved more than 250 pieces in marble and bronze, and took Calder 20 year to complete. In 1875 he won the competition for the colossal bronze statue of William Penn that was to crown its tower.
He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Notable works
- Philadelphia City Hall architectural sculpture, John McArthur, Jr. architect, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1873 – 1893.
- General Meade, West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1887.
- William Warner Tomb, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1889.
- William Penn, 37-foot-tall statue atop Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, placed in 1894.
Images
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William Warner Tomb, Laurel Hill Cemetery (1889).
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73rd Pennsylvania Infantry monument, Gettysburg Battlefield. 1889
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Indian Figure, prior to installation on City Hall, c. 1892.
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Philadelphia City Hall in 1899.
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South Portal.
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West Portal, illuminated with colored lights (2005).
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William Penn (1894), atop City Hall.
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William Penn faces northeast, so the face is generally in shadow.
Sources
- Bach, Penny Balkin, Public Art in Philadelphia, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992 ISBN 0-87722-822-1
- Craven, Wayne, Sculpture in America, Thomas Y Crowell Co, NY, NY 1968 ISBN 0-87413-225-8
- Fairmount Park Association, Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze and Stone, Walker Publishing Co., Inc, NY. NY 1974 ISBN 0-8027-7100-9
- Hayes, Margaret Calder Three Alexander Calders, Paul S Eriksson Publisher, Middlebury, Vermont, 1977 ISBN 0-8397-8017-6
- 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 ISBN 0-8117-2738-6
External links
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