RaveLibrary JournalWhile some readers might be drawn to this book by Peele’s star power, this is a well-crafted anthology that’s perfect for introducing readers to emerging and established Black authors.
Jed Perl
PositiveThe Wall Street Journal... [Perl] does not generally seek to prove or explain or argue for the deeper seriousness of Calder’s sculptures, and perhaps he should not need to do so. Instead, he allows the lavish illustrations to speak for themselves while he charts Calder’s life through a well-researched and engaging narrative rich in anecdotes. Like most biographers, Mr. Perl is fully on the side of his subject and quick to leap to Calder’s defense when he feels that a critic like Greenberg, or a dealer like Pierre Matisse, has behaved badly toward his protagonist ... an elaborate (and well-deserved) tribute that amounts to an all but officially authorized biography ... And yet Mr. Perl has set himself a difficult and in some ways unenviable task here. If the first volume recounted the heroic struggles and improbable triumphs of the young artist, as well as the process of his self-discovery, the second is largely a review of his increasingly inevitable success ... By the end of Mr. Perl’s second volume, we are left in no doubt as to the depth and durability of Calder’s career.
