Malvina Hoffman: A Sculptor's Journey

Drawing from the CRMA’s deep collection of works by 20th century sculptor Malvina Hoffman, this two-gallery exhibition explores her lengthy and varied career as a sculptor of the human form. From her early bust of her father Richard to her famous commission from the Field Museum to create their “Hall of Man,” Malvina Hoffman: A Sculptor’s Journey traces Hoffman’s artistic roots from her teenage creations through apprenticeship with Auguste Rodin and into her arrival as an independent and gifted artist.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Whether you go or not, Races of Mankind: The Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman constructs a cultural biography of the Races of Mankind sculptures. Despite the enormous role the sculptures played in representing race in American visual culture, their history has been largely unrecognized until now. The first sustained examination of this influential group of sculptures, Races of Mankind: The Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman examines how the veracity of race is continually renegotiated through collaborative processes involved in the production, display, and circulation of visual representations.

Races of Mankind: The Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman