Elie Nadelman

Elie Nadelman was born into a middle-class Polish family, but at twenty-two left Warsaw and settled in Paris. There, he chose sculpture as his primary medium after seeing classical works and the masterpieces of Auguste Rodin. He immigrated to New York at the start of World War I and quickly came under the spell of the city's dance halls, circuses, and vaudeville acts. He grew interested in American folk art and began buying pieces until his collection grew so large that he founded the Nadelman Museum of Folk Art in Riverdale, New York. During the Great Depression, his popularity and commissions dropped off, and he was forced to sell his collection in order to survive.