The Department is fortunate to own seven original mobiles by Alexander Calder (1898-1976). The Fine Arts Center architect, Fayetteville native Edward Durell Stone, was a friend of Calder’s. Stone liked to include the wondrous fluttering sculptures as often as he could in his designs. Initially eight mobiles hung in the Fine Arts Concert Hall. Fully aware of the fact that public projects must have alternate deductible expenses, and wanting to make sure that the mobiles would not be eliminated, Stone designated them as “electrical fixtures” to hang above the wall sconces on either side of the room. They were meant to complement the original “mesh ceiling” which was designed by Stone from discarded film reel punch outs.
In the early 1970’s they were taken down and stored for their protection. For several years they hung in the University Museum. Then, in 1992, the Fine Arts Center Gallery underwent an extensive renovation, which resulted in a secured space with environmental control. The Calders were retrieved from the museum (after a short trip to the Amarillo Museum of Art to help them celebrate their 20th anniversary), and permanently installed in the gallery.