Head of Pavlova
<p>In 1910 the sculptor Malvina Hoffman saw the famed Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova perform in London, a<br>profound experience that ultimately led to their close friendship. Hoffman spent years capturing the exquisite<br>grace of Pavlova’s movement in different sculptures and reliefs, yet in <em>Head of Pavlova</em> she created a restrained, almost melancholic portrait of the dancer wearing an elaborate Russian headdress, her eyes nearly closed. Hoffman explained that in her portraits of Pavlova, her friend appears as a “rather sad, thoughtful person, far removed from the vivacious and exciting fairy that Pavlova represents over the footlights.”</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1924
- Dimensions
- Sculpture: 40.6 × 23.5 × 15.9 cm (16 × 9 5/16 × 6 5/16 in.); Base: 24.1 × 22 × 22.2 cm (9 1/2 × 8 11/16 × 8 3/4 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Malvina Hoffman
Artist
Sculpture
Malvina Cornell Hoffman was an American sculptor and author, well known for her life-size bronze sculptures of people. She also worked in plaster and marble. Hoffman created portrait busts of working-class people and significant individuals. She was particularly known for her sculptures of dancers, such as Anna Pavlova. Her sculpture series of culturally diverse people, entitled Hall of the Races of Mankind, was a popular permanent exhibition at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. It was featured at the Century of Progress International Exposition at the Chicago World's Fair of 1933.
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Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Malvina Hoffman
- Year
- 1924
- Dimensions
- Sculpture: 40.6 × 23.5 × 15.9 cm (16 × 9 5/16 × 6 5/16 in.); Base: 24.1 × 22 × 22.2 cm (9 1/2 × 8 11/16 × 8 3/4 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1924-014261
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified