Dancer

Elie Nadelman, Dancer, ca. 1918-1919, painted cherry wood and gesso, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Partial and promised gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, 1999.102
Copied Elie Nadelman, Dancer, ca. 1918-1919, painted cherry wood and gesso, 28 1⁄4 x 14 1⁄2 x 5 1⁄8 in. (71.8 x 36.8 x 13 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Partial and promised gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, 1999.102
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Artwork Details

Title
Dancer
Artist
Date
ca. 1918-1919
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
28 1⁄4 x 14 1⁄2 x 5 1⁄8 in. (71.8 x 36.8 x 13 cm)
Credit Line
Partial and promised gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan
Mediums Description
painted cherry wood and gesso
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — full length
  • Performing arts — dance
Object Number
1999.102
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1999.102

Artwork Description

American popular culture transformed the classical sculpting style that Nadelman brought from Europe. The artist reveled in vaudeville and the circus and fell in love with the simple shapes and sly humor of American folk art, which he smoothly integrated into his carvings. This work was likely inspired by a photograph of the vaudeville star Eva Tanguay demonstrating a high, split kick from her routine. It is as elegantly carved as an archaic figure of a temple dancer but still conveys the impudent energy of the can-can.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006