Before the Mobiles: The Architectural Gem in SCH’s Henry Library Highlights the 'Middle' Calder's Legacy

As Philadelphia celebrates the opening of Calder Gardens, featuring the innovative mobiles of Alexander "Sandy" Calder, a closer look at the local work of his father, Alexander Stirling Calder (1870–1945), offers a timely reflection on the city's three-generation sculptural dynasty. Stirling Calder designed the fireplace surround in what is now SCH’s Henry Library. 

Alexander Stirling Calder, a prolific sculptor whose major Philadelphia works include the Swann Memorial Fountain at Logan Circle and the Shakespeare Memorial across from the Free Library, was a bridge between the grand tradition of his father, Alexander Milne Calder, who sculpted the statue of William Penn on City Hall, and the modernist vision of his son, “Sandy.” 

The sculpted surround at the Henry Library, designed originally for the Wissahickon Inn at the end of the 19th century, stands as a testament to the middle Calder's skill in architectural sculpture, a genre he mastered through significant commissions across the country, including work on the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.

The opening of Calder Gardens has renewed interest in the entire Calder family's legacy. Art enthusiasts are now encouraged to take a "Calder pilgrimage" down the Parkway, where they can see all three generations of the family's art in a single sweep, from the William Penn atop City Hall, the Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Square, and the new Calder Gardens dedicated to Alexander Calder's mobiles and stabiles. The Henry Library fireplace surround offers our SCH community a more intimate example of the Calder family's pervasive influence across Philadelphia. 

“I am continually awestruck when I stand before Calder’s fireplace in the Henry Library,” says Megan Monaghan, director of Arts at SCH, “recognizing that the artistic legacy that helped shape Philadelphia’s skyline is also at the heart of our SCH community. The Calder family’s work spans generations, grounded in imagination, craftsmanship, and bold vision—the same values we nurture in our students every day. The message above the hearth, ‘Kyndle yr Aune ffyre,’ resonates deeply: a call for every student to ignite their own creative flame.”