"A meticulously researched biography of one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. . . Not only an essential record of the first 40 years of Calder's life, but an exceptional chronicle of the genesis of modernism."
—Kirkus Starred Review
“Calder’s magic brilliantly captivated by an astute biographer.”—John Richardson, author of A Life of Picasso
~John Richardson
“Calder is an artist whose influence is so ubiquitous that you sometimes completely lose sight of him. Jed Perl, one of our most brilliant art critics, has remedied this in a superbly researched, illustrated, and crafted biography of his early years. We can now savor Calder's accomplishment fully and see where his genius lies, and how it matters to us today.” —John Ashbery
~John Ashbery
“In this richly satisfying biography, Calder appears as charming as ever, but he is also a much more powerful figure than the beloved teddy bear of legend. He becomes a modern philosopher-king, unpretentious but serious, who takes the true measure of a world that never stops moving.”—Mark Stevens, co-author of De Kooning: An American Master
~Mark Stevens
“Jed Perl has the critical imagination to imagine Calder’s imagination, and the rare ability to engage that of the reader.”—Fran Lebowitz
~Fran Lebowitz
“A masterwork account of the life of one of America’s greatest artists that’s also an account of America coming into its own. Passionate, learned, playful and ranging, it’s as solidly-grounded as a stabile, but like a mobile it appears to defy gravity—and float.”—Joshua Cohen, author of Book of Numbers
~Joshua Cohen
“Perl’s vibrant, driving prose . . . reveals how Calder’s magnetic personality and synthetic thinking determined a radical new course for 20th-century art.”—Adam D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director, Whitney Museum of American Art
~Adam D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown
