Philadelphia Arts

Philadelphia Arts. . , Alexander Milne Calder was just 26 years old when he embarked on what would become the masterwork of his career: the design of over 250 sculptures for Philadelphia's City Hall. He started his work on the statue of William Penn in 1872, but it was not until 1886 that his image of the city's founder met with approval and not until 1890 that a foundry capable of casting such a sizable sculpture came into being., Philadelphia's own Tacony Iron and Metal Works cast the 47 sculptural sections of William Penn and one-by-one hauled the finished pieces to a field just outside the factory doors. There, Philadelphia's children claimed the sculpture as their own , walking the brim of Penn's hat, marvelling at the 13-inch nose, smoothing the six-inch buttons on the friendly giant's coat. By 1892, a fully assembled William Penn was greeting visitors to the City Hall courtyard. Late in 1894 the city watched as the bronzed, 26-ton behemoth was hoisted to its final resting place atop City Hall., Today, William Penn presides over a city which hosts the public statuary of Louise Nevelson, Henry Moore, and Claes Oldenburg as well as the masterpieces of Picasso, Van Gough, Matisse, Cassatt, Pippin, Muybridge, Adams, Kiefer, and many more. The finest private collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings is on view here, as is the largest collection of Rodin sculptures and drawings outside Paris. And, by virtue of the city's wide network of art galleries, Philadelphians experience the newest works of today's international artists.,

"Guided by my first inspiration, I conceived another thinker, a naked man, his fist against his teeth, he dreams." , Auguste Rodin, Sculptor

, [Caption:] , Three generations of the Calder family left their artistic legacies to Philadelphia , and all along the city's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. There was Alexander Milne, the creator of the City Hall sculptures and William Penn; Alexander Stirling, whose work includes the beloved Swann Fountain at Logan Square; and Alexander, whose internationally renowned mobiles include Ghost; the sculpture now hanging in the front lobby of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.