Here are 7 fascinating facts about the modern artist Alexander Calder.
His parents didn’t want him to pursue art.
One of his most pivotal works was inspired by The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
One of his assignments required him to attend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Seeing and sketching this spectacle had a profound impact on Calder, culminating in a career-changing, circus-inspired series.
The title of his most famous works is a pun in French.
His abstract sculptures are inspired by forms and phenomena found in nature.
Additionally, these works often accentuate the presence of the wind.
Some even sing' as their movable parts rub against each other.
Together, these elements illustrate Calder’s interest in emulating nature with his mobiles.
He also dabbled in painting, printmaking, jewelry crafting, and staging.
As early as 1906, he was crafting jewelrya body of work that would eventually total over 2,000 pieces.
In the 1920s, he began producing paintings and prints.
Like his sculptures, these works on paper often favored an abstract, geometric style.
An airline commissioned him to decorate a jet.
Given his background in engineering and his interest in motion, Calder accepted the offer.
Known asFlying Colors, this plane took flight in 1973 and primarily serviced South America.
Two years later, he designed another plane for the airline:Flying Colors of the United States.
In 1982, the airline went out of business.
In 1977, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
However, following his sudden death that same year, Calder was awarded posthumously.
Today, he is among nine artists who have received this honor, including Georgia O’Keeffe and Norman Rockwell.
