Malvina Hoffman
1885-1966

Malvina Hoffman was born in New York City, the daughter of a well-known concert pianist, Richard Hoffman.  She showed an interest in art from an early age, and began working with sketching and oil paint while attending the Brearley School.  While working on an oil painting portrait of her father, she concluded that two-dimensional art was not the right path for her, and she began sculpting.  A marble bust of her father was completed in 1909; the work was accepted into the annual exhibit at the National Academy of Design, garnering the artist considerable attention.

After studying at New York’s Art Students League, she set off with her mother for Paris, hoping to study with August Rodin, an artist who had made a strong impression on her.  It was not until her fifth visit to Rodin’s studio that he agreed to take her on.  While on this trip to Europe and subsequent others, Hoffman became friendly with many of the leading artists and intellectuals of the time, including Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse and the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (the sculptor was entranced by the ballet and created several highly esteemed works featuring the dancer (who remained a lifelong friend) in performance.

Taking Rodin’s advice, Hoffman returned to New York in 1911, and immersed herself in a dissection anatomy class at the Cornell College of Physicians.  She opened her own studio in 1912, and continued with frequent trips to Europe.