Alexander Calder was born on July 22, 1898 in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of artists. His father was a sculptor, his mother a painter. Already as a child, his creativity and also his craftsmanship show, but he does not immediately decide to become an artist as well. In 1915 Alexander Calder began studying engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hobroken, New Jersey, which he completed in 1919. He then worked in odd jobs as an engineer. But his imaginative and creative disposition led him back to art. In 1923 Alexander Calder went to New York and enrolled at the Art Students League. He earned his living with illustrations for the National Police Gazette. In 1925 he was commissioned by the Gazette to visit the performances of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and to produce pictures, which occupied him intensively for two weeks and established a lifelong enthusiasm for the circus.
Rank
18
231 offers
(in the last 12 months)
Watercolor / Drawing:
56
Prints:
121
Sculpture / Object:
33
Painting:
6
Alexander Calder has won the following awards :
Kunstpreis Kaiserring, 1977,
Searches curated for you
Our art historians have put together some interesting searches for you.
