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Balalaika Player
About the Artwork
A Lithuanian immigrant, Alexander Blazys introduced modernist sculpture to Cleveland upon his arrival in 1925. In this composition, the distinctive triangular shape of the balalaika instrument is mirrored in the pose of the player's legs.
Exhibition history
The May Show: 8th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 4-June 7, 1926). Retrospective Twenty-fifth Anniversary May Show. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 13-February 14, 1943). Art Deco. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 6-August 1, 1971). Art Deco. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (organizer) (December 2, 1973-January 27, 1974). The Cleveland Institute of Art: 100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 1982-January 30, 1983). Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 28-September 10, 1989). The Human Figure in American Sculpture: A Question of Modernity. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (organizer) (February 23-May 14, 1995); Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (June 22-September 10, 1995); Wichita Art Museum (October 19, 1995-January 7, 1996); National Academy of Design Museum and School of Fine Arts (February 15-May 5, 1996). Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996). Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 28-July 18, 2004).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Alexander Blazys (American, born Russian Empire [now Lithuania], 1894–1963)
- Date
- 1925
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 31.2 x 19.8 x 9.3 cm (12 5/16 x 7 13/16 x 3 11/16 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection
- Accession no.
- 1926.1548
More by Alexander Blazys in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010669
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