Alexander Milne Calder
He gave Philadelphia its skyline silhouette by sculpting the massive statue of William Penn that crowns City Hall.
1846–1923 (age 77)·Scottish-American sculptor·Birthday: August 23
Biography
Alexander Milne Calder arrived in Philadelphia from Scotland in 1868, a young sculptor stepping into a city about to erect its grandest civic building. For three decades, his chisel was central to the creation of Philadelphia City Hall, an epic project that became his life's work. He oversaw a small army of carvers, producing more than 250 pieces of architectural sculpture that adorn the building's granite façade. His most enduring legacy is the 37-foot-tall, 27-ton statue of William Penn, which he modeled in his studio and saw hoisted to the tower's peak in 1894. This figure, clad in colonial dress, became the city's visual anchor and a symbol of its ambitions. Calder established a creative dynasty; his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, became a major sculptor of public monuments, and his grandson was the kinetic art pioneer Alexander Calder.
#1 When Alexander Was Born
The biggest hits of 1846
Alexander's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1846Born
1851Started school
1859Became a teenager
1862Could drive
President: Abraham Lincoln
1864Could vote
President: Abraham Lincoln
1867Turned 21
President: Andrew Johnson
1876Turned 30
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1886Turned 40
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1896Turned 50
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1906Turned 60
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1916Turned 70
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Died at 77
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
Key Achievements
- Created the monumental 37-foot statue of William Penn for the tower of Philadelphia City Hall.
- Designed and oversaw the production of over 250 architectural sculptures for Philadelphia City Hall's exterior.
- Sculpted the bronze equestrian statue of Major General George G. Meade that stands in Fairmount Park.
- Founded a three-generation dynasty of influential American sculptors.
- His William Penn statue remained the tallest structure on any Philadelphia building until 1987.
Did You Know?
The William Penn statue was assembled from 14 sections of hollow hammered copper.
He studied under the prominent American sculptor Joseph A. Bailly.
His grandson, Alexander Calder, initially trained as a mechanical engineer before turning to art.
The statue of Penn was raised to the tower in sections using a wooden derrick.
Calder's original plaster model for the Penn statue is housed at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
“The figure emerges from the stone; my job is to find it and set it free.”
