Alexander Calder was born in Philadelphia in 1898. Both of his parents were artists, so it was natural that Alexander became an artist, too. Prior to World War II, Calder sculpted with wood. After the war, he began to sculpt with sheet metal and painted the metal with hues of black, red, blue and white. Alexander is most famous for inventing the MOBILE which is a balanced sculpture that moves. This is called KINETIC SCULPTURE. He also created sculptures that don’t move. They are called STABILES.

Here are a few fun facts about Calder:

• His friends called him Sandy.

• He studied art and engineering.

• His favorite color was red.

• He was given a tool set when he was eight years old and loved playing and inventing things in his workshop.

• Calder liked the circus so much that he created his own. The Calder Circus had over 50 moving figures made out of wire, leather and cloth.