Alexander Calder was born in Lawnton, a suburb of Philadelphia, on the date of July 22 1898. He was named Alexander after his father, Alexander Stirling Calder, and his grandfather Alexander Miline Calder. With all three of the Calder men being named Alexander, they needed something to set them apart from one another, so the youngest Alexander, developed the nickname Sandy. He got this nickname because he looked like Santa Clause with his flannel shirts on, and a clown with his big, baggy khaki pants.
             Sandy's grandfather, Alexander Miline, was a wonderful sculptor. Philadelphia's new city hall hired him in 1872 to design and model various figures. One of his best known statues that he made was one of William Penn. This statue took twenty years to complete, and the reason it took this long is because it stands thirty-seven feet high! Just to give you an idea about how big this thing is Penn's nose is thirteen inches long, and his buttons are six inches in diameter. This statue weighed 60,000 pounds and had to be taken apart just to get it to the roof of the City Hall tower where it stands to this day.
             Sandy's grandfather had six children one being Alexander Stirling Calder, Sandy's father. Alexander Stirling Calder was also a great sculptor. Stirling seemed more sophisticated with his works and wanted more realism to his sculptors. However, the Calder name was still not really associated with art till Sandy came along.
             Sandy was the youngest of his family. He had a sister named Peggy that was two years than he was. His father, as you already know, was Alexander Stirling Calder and his mother Nanette Calder. When Sandy was three his mother and father sold their house in Lawnton and moved to an apartment in Philadelphia. When Sandy was little his mother and father often called on him to pose for them while they would sculpt. He would often pose in the nude as in the sculpture &quo
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