<P> Alexander Calder ( / ˈkɔːldər / ) is widely considered to be one of the most important American sculptors of the 20th century . He is best known for his colorful , whimsical abstract public sculptures and his innovative mobiles , kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents , which embraced chance in their aesthetic . Born into a family of accomplished artists , Calder 's work first gained attention in Paris in the 1930s and was soon championed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York , resulting in a retrospective exhibition in 1943 . Major retrospectives were also held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum ( 1964 ) and the Museum of Contemporary Art , Chicago ( 1974 ) . Calder 's work is in many permanent collections , most notably in the Whitney Museum of American Art , but also the Guggenheim Museum ; the Museum of Modern Art ; the National Gallery of Art , Washington , D.C. ; and the Centre Georges Pompidou . He produced many large public works , including . 125 ( at JFK Airport , 1957 ) , Pittsburgh ( Carnegie International prize winner 1958 , Pittsburgh International Airport ) Spirale ( UNESCO in Paris , 1958 ) , Flamingo and Universe ( both in Chicago , 1974 ) , and Mountains and Clouds ( Hart Senate Office Building , Washington , D.C. , 1976 ) . Although primarily known for his sculpture , Calder was a prodigious artist with a restless creative spirit , whose diverse practice included painting and printmaking , miniatures ( such as his famous Cirque Calder ) , children 's book illustrations , theater set design , jewelry design , tapestries and rugs , and political posters . Calder was honored by the US Postal Service with a set of five 32 - cent stamps in 1998 , and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , posthumously in 1977 , after refusing to receive it from Gerald Ford one year earlier in protest of the Vietnam War . </P>
<P> Alexander Calder ( / ˈkɔːldər / ) is widely considered to be one of the most important American sculptors of the 20th century . He is best known for his colorful , whimsical abstract public sculptures and his innovative mobiles , kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents , which embraced chance in their aesthetic . Born into a family of accomplished artists , Calder 's work first gained attention in Paris in the 1930s and was soon championed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York , resulting in a retrospective exhibition in 1943 . Major retrospectives were also held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum ( 1964 ) and the Museum of Contemporary Art , Chicago ( 1974 ) . Calder 's work is in many permanent collections , most notably in the Whitney Museum of American Art , but also the Guggenheim Museum ; the Museum of Modern Art ; the National Gallery of Art , Washington , D.C. ; and the Centre Georges Pompidou . He produced many large public works , including . 125 ( at JFK Airport , 1957 ) , Pittsburgh ( Carnegie International prize winner 1958 , Pittsburgh International Airport ) Spirale ( UNESCO in Paris , 1958 ) , Flamingo and Universe ( both in Chicago , 1974 ) , and Mountains and Clouds ( Hart Senate Office Building , Washington , D.C. , 1976 ) . Although primarily known for his sculpture , Calder was a prodigious artist with a restless creative spirit , whose diverse practice included painting and printmaking , miniatures ( such as his famous Cirque Calder ) , children 's book illustrations , theater set design , jewelry design , tapestries and rugs , and political posters . Calder was honored by the US Postal Service with a set of five 32 - cent stamps in 1998 , and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , posthumously in 1977 , after refusing to receive it from Gerald Ford one year earlier in protest of the Vietnam War . </P>
name the artist who first created the mobile
name the artist who first created the mobile
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder