In 1967, Adolph Gottlieb was invited to serve on the jury to select an artist to create a work of public art in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The panel, with Gottlieb's endorsement, decided on Alexander Calder who then produced his seminal work “La Grande Vitesse” in 1969. This was the first work of public art funded by the National Endowment for the Arts program, Art in Public Places.
An annual festival in Grand Rapids is held to celebrate the sculpture’s anniversary. City Historian Gordon Olson says of the Calder: “It changed the role of the arts and public sculpture in the life of this community because of the sheer magnitude of La Grande Vitesse and the excitement surrounding it, as well as all the work the community did to bring it here. It led to a change in attitude so that the assumption now is that every good community project should include a piece of public art."
