Malvina Hoffman
| Malvina Hoffman | |
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Roger Parry, Malvina Hoffman, c. 1920, collection of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative.
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| Born |
June 15, 1885 New York, New York |
| Died | July 10, 1966 (aged 81) New York, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Education |
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| Known for | Sculptures of dancers and "Hall of Man" at the Field Museum of Natural History |
| Notable work |
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| Spouse(s) | Samuel B. Grimson (1924–1936) |
 Malvina Hoffman's Expedition
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The Hall of Man
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Malvina Hoffman (June 15, 1885 – July 10, 1966) 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 sculptures 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.
She was commissioned to execute commemorative monuments and was awarded many prizes and honors, including a membership to the National Sculpture Society. In 1925, she was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1931. Many of her portraits of individuals are among the collection of the New York Historical Society. She maintained a salon, a social gathering of artistic and personal acquaintances, at her Sniffen Court studio for many years.
She was highly skilled in foundry techniques, often casting her own works. Hoffman published a definite work on historical and technical aspects of bronze casting, Sculpture Inside and Out, in 1939.
Malvina Hoffman was born in New York City, the fourth of six children of the concert pianist and composer, Richard Hoffman, and Fedelia Marshall Lamson Hoffman. Her mother, also a pianist, presided over her education at home until she was 10 years of age. The Hoffman's regularly entertained artists and musicians in their home. As a young girl, she met Swami Vivekananda when he lived and taught in New York City, and several of her later sculptures, like that of Sri Ramakrishna, are located at the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York.
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