Dancer and Gazelles

Paul Manship, Dancer and Gazelles, 1916, bronze, 32 ¹⁄₂ x 33 x 10 in. (82.5 x 84.0 x 25.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.8

Artwork Details

Title: Dancer and Gazelles
Artist: Paul Manship
Founder: Modern Art Foundry
Date: 1916
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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2nd Floor
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North Wing
Dimensions: 32 ¹⁄₂ x 33 x 10 in. (82.5 x 84.0 x 25.5 cm)
Credit Line: Bequest of Paul Manship
Mediums: bronze
Mediums Description: bronze
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Figure female — nude
Performing arts — dance
Animal — antelope
Object Number: 1966.47.8
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1966.47.8

Artwork Description

Dancer and Gazelles won Paul Manship the 1917 National Academy prize for best young sculptor and established his reputation as an up-and-coming artist. The tension in the small areas between the figures emphasizes the dancer's gestures, which command the gazelles' movements. Among artists of his time, Manship was unique in incorporating South Asian motifs and themes (Rather, "The Past Made Modern: Archaism in American Sculpture," Arts, November 1984). He derived this subject from ragamala paintings that illustrate Indian musical compositions. In these images, animals respond to the dance as cobras sway to the movement of a flute. Here, for instance, the gazelles mimic the motion of the dancer's hips and the sweep of the veil that flows from her neck.