Elie Nadelman, Standing Female Figure

Narrator: These two sculptures by Elie Nadelman depict circus performers that appear in moments of introspection, not putting on a show. Earlier in his career, Nadelman had made sculpture out of wood. He began making sculptures like these out of a democratic desire to make his work affordable so it could reach a wider audience. Curator Barbara Haskell. 

Barbara Haskell: He began to develop something called galvano-plastique, which is a technique where he made these hollow form plaster figures that were extensions of the wooden sculptures that he had made earlier in the in the decade and he coated them in a metal veneer, which gave them the look of metal, gave them the look of bronze, but were affordable.

Narrator: Nadelman’s efforts to reach a broader audience failed spectacularly.

Barbara Haskell: I think the American public was uncomfortable with images that looked like them at that point; they weren't sure whether these were satiric or celebratory. And in reality they fell somewhere in between. This was, you know, an immigrant looking at a new culture and embracing it for its contradictions. But the American public at that point was still relatively conservative and insecure. They wanted something that would glorify themselves, not cast any doubt on their pretensions for social upward mobility.