With its small head, elongated limbs, and fluid, streamlined volumes, this small sculpture exemplifies Nadelman's early presentation of the human figure. In 1910 he wrote, "I employ no other line than the curve, which possesses freshness and force. I compose these curves so as to bring them in accord or in opposition to one another."
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Artwork Details
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Title:Standing Female
Artist:Elie Nadelman (American (born Poland), Warsaw 1882–1946 Riverdale, New York)
Date:ca. 1908
Medium:Bronze, gilt
Dimensions:28 1/2 × 9 × 14 1/2 in., 33.8 lb. (72.4 × 22.9 × 36.8 cm, 15.3 kg)
Classification:Sculpture
Credit Line:Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Horwitz, 1975
Object Number:1975.426
Marking: Foundry mark (back of base): Colonelle Fondeur Paris
Lincoln Kirstein, New York (in 1973); [Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York, until 1975]; Mr. and Mrs. Martin Horwitz, New York (1975; their gift to MMA)
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "The Sculpture and Drawings of Elie Nadelman, 1882–1946," September 23–November 30, 1975, no. 9 (as "Standing Female Figure," lent by Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York).
Washington, D. C. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. "The Sculpture and Drawings of Elie Nadelman, 1882–1946," December 18, 1975–February 15, 1976, no. 9.
Mountainville, N. Y. Storm King Art Center. "20th Century Sculpture: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 18–October 31, 1984, unnum. brochure.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selection Three: Twentieth-Century Art," October 22, 1985–January 26, 1986, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Human Figure in Transition, 1900–1945: American Sculpture from the Museum's Collection," April 15–September 28, 1997, extended to March 29, 1998, unnum. brochure.
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "Elie Nadelman: Sculptor of Modern Life," April 3–July 20, 2003, unnumbered cat. (fig. 57).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Small Bronzes," September 5, 2003–March 14, 2004, no catalogue.
Lincoln Kirstein. Elie Nadelman. New York, 1973, p. 295, no. 78, calls it "Standing Female Nude," dates it about 1907 and locates it in a private collection, New York City.
Athena T. Spear. "The Multiple Styles of Elie Nadelman: Drawings and Figure Sculptures ca. 1905–12." Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin 31 (1973–74), pp. 42, 47, fig. 10, calls it "Neutral Figure," dates it 1908, and locates it in the collection of L. Kirstein.
John I. H. Baur. The Sculpture and Drawings of Elie Nadelman, 1882–1946. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1975, p. 8, no. 9, ill. p. 26.
Michael Brenson. "Art: 100 Modern Sculptures at Storm King Center." New York Times (August 3, 1984), p. C20.
Grace Glueck. "Of American Sculptors and the Human Figure." New York Times (June 6, 1997), p. C22, calls it "Standing Nude," and dates it 1908.
Joan M. Marter inAmerican Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Thayer Tolles. Vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1865 and 1885. New York and New Haven, 2001, pp. 691–92, no. 326, ill. (color).
Elie Nadelman (American (born Poland), Warsaw 1882–1946 Riverdale, New York)
1906–8 (?)
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