Alexander Milne Calder
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Alexander Milne Calder | |
|---|---|
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts | |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Alexander Milne Calder (August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) (MILL-nee) was a Scottish American sculptor best known for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall.[1] Both his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, and grandson, Alexander Calder, became significant sculptors in the 20th century.
Early life and education
Calder was born in
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
.
Career
In 1873, he was hired by architect
George Gordon Meade for Fairmount Park. Then in 1875, he won the competition for the colossal (37 foot tall) bronze statue of William Penn 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.[3][4][5]
Calder is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb.
Notable works
- Philadelphia City Hall architectural sculpture, John McArthur Jr. architect, Philadelphia, 1873 – 1893.
- Major General George Gordon Meade, West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, 1887
- William Warner Tomb, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, 1889
- William Penn, 37-foot-tall statue atop Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia, placed in 1894
Images
-
William Warner Tomb, Laurel Hill Cemetery (1889) -
73rd Pennsylvania Infantry monument, Gettysburg Battlefield (1889) -
Indian Figure, prior to installation on City Hall, c. 1892 -
Philadelphia City Hall in 1899 -
South Portal -
West Portal, illuminated with colored lights (2005) -
William Penn (1894), atop Philadelphia City Hall -
William Penn faces northeast, so the face is generally in shadow -
_(14769096904).jpg)
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- Kvaran and Lockley, A Guide to Architectural Sculpture in America, unpublished manuscript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
References
- ^ "City Hall (Philadelphia)". The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ Perl, Jed (2017). Calder : The Conquest of Time : The Early Years: 1898-1940. Knopf. p. 14.
- ^ Fodor's Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, New York: Fodor Travel Publications, 2007, 51.
- ^ Hornblum, Allen M., and George J. Holmes, Philadelphia's City Hall, Mount Pleasant: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
- ^ DK Travel, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Westminster: Penguin Random House, 2017, 74-5.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Milne Calder.
- Biography at West Laurel Hill Cemetery web site
- Alexander Milne Calder page at Philadelphia Public Art
- Plaque honoring Alexander Milne Calder at Philadelphia Public Art
- Alexander Milne Calder at Find a Grave
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