Dancer and Gazelles
Artist: Paul Manship (American, 1885-1966)
Date: Modeled 1916, this cast about 1922
Dimensions:
H: 72 in. (183 cm); W: 73 1/2 in. (186.7 cm)
Medium: bronze
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Frederick B. and Kate L. Shoemaker Fund
Object number: 1923.24
Label Text:With its streamlined forms, fluid and graceful motion, and appreciation of classical subjects, Paul Manship’s sculpture was an important precursor to the Art Deco style. Manship deftly straddled the traditional taste for decorative beauty and the Modernist appreciation for simplified, abstracted form. In his works of great charm he was able to fuse elements from a wide range of cultures and eras, introducing a revitalizing freshness to American sculpture. This talent is displayed superbly in Dancers with Gazelles, one of his most famous compositions.
The rhythmic grace of the group, the decorative detail along the sides of the base and the costume’s hem, and the curvilinear contours recall painting and sculpture from India. Indeed, Manship’s motif of a woman flanked by two gazelles may derive from a similar theme of dancing figures with animals found in Indian miniature painting.
The rhythmic grace of the group, the decorative detail along the sides of the base and the costume’s hem, and the curvilinear contours recall painting and sculpture from India. Indeed, Manship’s motif of a woman flanked by two gazelles may derive from a similar theme of dancing figures with animals found in Indian miniature painting.
DescriptionModeled in 1916; this cast made about 1922
On view
In Collection(s)