TitleMalvina Hoffman
Daten.d.
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 30 × 25 in.
SignedSigned lower left: "Boris Anisfeld"
SubmissionANA diploma presentation, April 5, 1926
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number33-P
Label TextAnisfeld's portrait of the sculptor Malvina Hoffman dates from the time of her election as an Associate member of the National Academy. Anisfeld and Hoffman's relation stemmed from their mutual interest in the Ballet Russe. The painter was born in Bessarabia and studied at the Odessa School of Art in the Ukraine and at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Petrograd. Before emigrating to the United States during World War I, he designed sets and décor for the Ballet Russe. In the background of the painting is an image of a version of Hoffman's portrait bust of the company's great dancer Anna Pavlova. The other partially visible bust has not been identified.
