An American in Paris

Josephine Baker IV, by Alexander Calder, circa 1928. Wire acrobats, floating mobiles, wooden figures ... Celebrating the centenary of Alexander Calder’s years living in the French capital, an exhibition presents more than 300 of his works By Nicholas Fox Weber The 71-year-old Alexander Calder was standing just outside Perls Galleries on upper Madison Avenue, looking at the terrazzo sidewalk he’d designed—a euphoric interaction of curves and grids. The occasion was a soigné charity benefit celebrating the installation, that rare instance when the public and private sectors have worked together to add pulse and joy to city life. The women in the gallery were society types who resembled the early wire sculpture that Calder called “The Debutante’s Mother,” while the men were mainly bankers in pinstripe suits. The artist, meanwhile, wore a red-plaid flannel shirt and workman’s trousers. READ ON