Alexander Milne Calder

Alexander Milne Calder (August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) was a Scottish American sculptor best known for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. Both his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, and grandson, Alexander "Sandy" Calder, became significant sculptors in the 20th century.

Biography

Alexander Milne Calder was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of a tombstone carver. He began his career in Scotland, working for sculptor John Rhind, the father of sculptor J. Massey Rhind while attending the Royal Academy in Edinburgh. He moved to London and worked on the Albert Memorial. Calder immigrated to the United States in 1868 and settled in Philadelphia, where he studied with Joseph A. Bailly, and took classes (as would his son Alexander Stirling Calder) with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1873, he was hired by architect John McArthur, Jr. to produce models for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. The commission involved more than 250 pieces in marble and bronze, and took Calder 20 years to complete. That same year, he was commissioned by the Association for Public Art (then the Fairmount Park Art Association) to create an equestrian statue of Major General George Gordon Meade for Fairmount Park. In 1875 he won the competition for the colossal bronze statue of William Penn that was to crown its tower.

He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Notable works

• Philadelphia City Hall architectural sculpture, John McArthur, Jr. architect, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1873 – 1893.
• General Meade, West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1887.
• William Warner Tomb, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1889.
• William Penn, 37-foot-tall statue atop Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, placed in 1894.