Elie NadelmanAmerican, 1882–1946Dancer
May one see it?
Unknown: the museum keeps its counsel
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington, D.C., United States
The owner is known. Whether it is on view today, the museum does not say, and we were not trained to guess.
- In this state since
- Sep 25, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the sculpture
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
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1999.102
What it shows
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 5 days ago
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
