Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Mobile Artist
Alexander Calder
Reading Comprehension for July 22
There was a time when art was stationary. It did not move. It was a painting or a sketch on a flat surface. Or it was a sculpture carved from wood or stone or molded from clay or paper. No matter how long a person looked at such art, they would never detect any movement.
Then came Alexander Calder, and moving art was born! Calder invented the mobile, a structure that is hung from the ceiling or a wall and whose parts can be moved by air.
Calder's creativity was to be expected. After all, he was born into a family of artists! His father and grandfather were well-known sculptors, and his mother was a painter. He was born either July 22 or August 22, 1898, in the U.S.A. (Hospital records said one date; his parents said another.) His parents did not want him to suffer the life of an artist. He went to college to study mechanical engineering. He received his degree in 1919 and held a series of jobs. He worked for an electric company. He was a ship's engineer. He worked in a logging camp. At the logging camp, he took up painting, inspired by the rugged mountain scenery. Then he decided to pursue a career as an artist.
