Known as the inventor of the mobile—lighthearted, ever changing forms of perfect balance—and for his freestanding abstract stabiles, Alexander Calder was one of the most admired and influential sculptors of the 20th century. Art critic Jed Perl offers this superb illustrated biography, the first of two volumes and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2017. Beginning with Calder's own assessment of his background ("I wasn't brought up—I was framed"), Perl's engaging and insightful book reveals that Calder's renowned playfulness may have stemmed from his resistance to going into the family business of "Art" with a capital A.