Alexander Calder's iconic monumental sculptures have been found to have a unique birthplace in the home town of musician and songwriter Don Henley, Linden, Texas. The long anticipated preservation of this historic landmark is now underway.
Calder's introduction to East Texas came through a lifelong friendship with James Sloan Penny, after the two crossed paths during basic training for the Great War. Penny kept his promise that if they both returned home safely, he would name a daughter for Calder's mother, Nanette.
After receiving a degree in mechanical engineering in the 1920s, Calder worked as a hydraulic engineer. Among his early design commissions during this period was a water storage tower constructed under a Works Progress Administration program facilitated by Linden’s Congressman Wright Patman. This proved to be the first “HORTON TANK” design produced by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. Calder personally oversaw the tower's erection.
Today this structure has been recognized as the largest stationary monumental sculpture in Calder's repertoire. If all goes as planned, Linden's water tower will be recognized later this year as a United Nations heritage site.
In addition to Calder's work, a previously unknown sculpture attributed to Donald Judd was identified in Linden earlier this year. This piece is thought to be the genesis of Judd’s goal to bring art, architecture, and nature together in order to form a coherent whole, later embodied at the Chinati foundation in Marfa Texas.
Linden is also the home of numerous works by renowned Texas muralist Brad Attaway (1955-2016), "The Last Crop" (1939) by Russian muralist Victor Arnautoff, and an outdoor installation attributed to Mark Rothko.
Reliable sources indicate that Linden has been short listed to become home to the Guggenheim Foundation's Museum for Music and the Visual Arts, which will be the only facility of its kind in North America. Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods.
Preservation of Alexander Calder's masterwork comes none too late. As Henley remarks, time "continues its relentless digestion of our open spaces and eats away at our historic buildings and landmarks. This threat is compounded by the fact that much of our historic built environment has fallen into a severe state of disrepair... After all, our historic landmarks are a part of our environment."
J.K.
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