Proof that art... and life... can be fun, influential sculptor Alexander “Sandy” Calder (1898–1976) was born in Philadelphia. Son and grandson of sculptors, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering before moving to Paris in 1926 to experiment with wire and kinetics.

“I paint with shapes,” he once explained. “The basis of everything for me is the universe.”

Inspired by imagination and a love for the circus, Calder brought motion to art. Marcel Duchamp coined the word “mobile” for his kinetic sculptures; Jean Arp coined “stabile” for the still ones.

“My fan mail is enormous,” Calder said. “Everyone is under six.”

Often animal-shaped, his sculptures used stone, wood, or bronze to celebrate color and joy. “Poetry that dances with the spirit of life,” he called them.

“My whole theory of art is the disparity that exists between form, masses, and movement,” he reflected in 1960. “Above all, art should be fun.”

He created public sculptures for the UNESCO headquarters, Lincoln Center, and Washington D.C.'s National Gallery—his work spanning multiple stories with playful balance and awe.

Calder's work makes you happy. That childlike wonder, the lightness of shapes in air, the joy of color in motion. He reminds us that imagination doesn’t have to explain itself. It just gets to be.