Alexander Calder's Stegosaurus, Hartford

Alexander Calder’s Stegosaurus is a monumental steel sculpture that has stood proudly in downtown Hartford since its dedication on October 10, 1973. Towering 50 feet high and stretching 32 feet across, the vivid red-orange structure is a quintessential example of Calder’s “stabiles”-large, stationary abstract sculptures that invite viewers to walk around and through them, rather than view them from a single fixed perspective.

Located on Alfred E. Burr Memorial Mall, between Hartford City Hall and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Stegosaurus was commissioned by the Ella Burr McManus Trust Fund to honor McManus’s father, Alfred E. Burr, founder of the Hartford Times. Calder was selected for the project after a five-year search for “the most gifted and competent sculptor known.” A small-scale model was unveiled in 1972, and the final version-constructed from 45 curved and angular steel plates-was completed the following year.

The sculpture’s five upward-pointing “fins” suggest the prehistoric creature that inspired its name, while its fluid interplay of lines and mass conveys motion and grace despite its size and weight. Calder’s design encourages exploration; its open, airy structure contrasts strikingly with the solid facades of nearby buildings, and the adjacent fountain evokes the image of a dinosaur pausing to drink.

Though best known for his mobiles, Calder’s Stegosaurus marks his shift toward large public sculptures late in life. It’s the only full-scale version ever built; a smaller Stegosaurus Jr. once stood in Farmington but was sold in 2000. Restored in 2016, the sculpture remains a bold centerpiece in Hartford’s landscape of post-war public art, alongside works by Carl Andre and Tony Smith.