Pavlova Dancing the Gavotte

About the Artwork

Sculptor Malvina Hoffman met the acclaimed Russian ballerina Ana Pavlova in New York during the spring of 1914. This bronze rendering of the dancer, posed with broadly outstretched arms, was created the following year. At the time, Pavlova was attempting to popularize a Russian version of the French folk dance known as the gavotte.

Inscriptions

Signed on base: "Malvina Hoffman 1915, IX ©"

Exhibition history

Sculpture of Our Time. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 5, 1937). Art Deco. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (organizer) (December 2, 1973-January 27, 1974). The American Way in Sculpture 1890-1930. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 12-October 19, 1986). Object in Focus: Malvina Hoffman, Bacchanale. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 8-March 10, 2002).

Quick Overview

Artist: Malvina Hoffman (American, 1887–1966)
Date: 1915
Medium: bronze
Dimensions: Overall: 35.6 cm (14 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: Sculpture
Department: American Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection
Accession no.: 1923.725

Provenance

Mrs. Henry A. Everett

More by Malvina Hoffman in museum collections

Bacchanale
Malvina Hoffman
1917 · Sculpture
Museum collection · via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00010656

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.