Calder, Alexander (Stirling) (1898–1976)

US abstract sculptor. He invented mobiles, sculptures consisting of flat, brightly coloured shapes, suspended from wires and rods and moved by motors or currents of air. Although he was not the first sculptor to exploit real movement, no one before him had used it consistently. Huge mobiles by Calder have been installed at Kennedy Airport, New York (1957) and the UNESCO headquarters in Paris (1962).

Inspired both by Joan Miró and Piet Mondrian, by the early 1930s Calder had created his first mobiles. He very soon developed his more familiar works, delicately balanced constructions moved by air currents: Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939) (Museum of Modern Art, New York) is typical. He also created nonmoving sculptures called ‘stabiles’, such as Black Widow (1959) (Museum of Modern Art, New York).

Calder was born in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, and trained as an engineer. In 1926 he went to Paris, where he made witty sculptures in wire of animals and figures, including his famous circus menagerie, Le Cirque Calder (1926–61).