American Art Collaborative

Arriving in the United States in 1914, after ten years steeped in the avant-garde world of Paris, Polish-born Elie Nadelman produced sculpture that elevated everyday professions and activities to classical, timeless stature. The Hostess demonstrates Nadelman’s enthusiastic interest in and observation of American popular culture. Its formal simplicity and solemn monumentality are typical of the artist’s style, and the graceful stylization of the figure embodies his assertion: “I employ no other line than the curve, which possesses freshness and force.” Nadelman also prioritized gesture in his sculptures, and often rendered particular movements at their most dramatic. The Hostess is represented mid-stride, arms outstretched, her head turned to the side, perhaps in the act of responding to a request.