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The History of the Toys The world knows Alexander Calder as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, but in 1927, he was best known as the son of the famous sculptor, Alexander Stirling Calder, a well-known public sculptor who was commissioned to sculpt the woodwork and the fountain surround in the Museum's Ellen Crane Memorial Sculpture Gallery. Though trained as an engineer, Alexander Calder began to focus on making art soon after graduating from college. Even as a boy, Calder enjoyed tinkering with bits of wire to make imaginative toys with moving parts. As an entrepreneurial effort to make a living as an artist, he created a series of playful wooden pull toys for children, eventually finding a company willing to manufacture them. The Gould Manufacturing Company, in Oshkosh, WI. marketed a line of "futuristic toys for advanced kiddies" based on the Calder prototypes. Other Works by Calder on View at the Museum In the 1930's the Berkshire Museum gave the young Calder his first public commission, a pair of mobiles designed for the Museum's new theater. These pieces, which were recently conserved, still hang in their original niches on either side of the theater's stage.
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This permanent
interactive exhibit, showcases nine original wooden push and pull
toys created by Alexander Calder in 1927. The exhibit also features
replicas of the toys that visitors can play with. Now is your chance
to play with Alexander Calder: make the seal bounce a ball on its
nose; see the duck waddle across the room; and watch as mesmerizing
spirals go round and round. Also on view are two early Calder motorized
mobiles, precursors to his better-known mobiles.
Copyright ©2003, Berkshire Museum