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Accession #	26.519
Artist	Malvina Hoffman
Title	Ivan Mestrovic
Date	1925
Medium	Bronze
Dimensions	86 5/8 x 42 1/8 x 31 1/2 in. (220 x 107 x 80 cm)
Marks	Foundry mark inscribed on proper left side at bottom of base: "ROMAN BRONZE WORKS N-Y-"
Signed	Inscribed on proper left front, top corner of base: "MALViNA HOFFMAN / 1925"
Credit Line	Gift of Felix M. Warburg and Edward C. Blum
Location	Visible Storage: Case 27
Description	Over-life-sized figure of a man standing on a mounded base; figure stands with legs apart and turns head to gaze at loosely modeled crucifix held up in proper right hand; proper left hand holds chisel and rests against chest; figure dressed in work clothes of loose pants and an open-collared robe; has short hair, mustache, and goatee; overall textured, rough surface. Condition: Good

Curatorial Remarks:

One of the few American students of the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin, Malvina Hoffman also studied equestrian sculpture briefly with the Croatian artist Ivan Mestrovic (1881-1962). While she worked with him, Mestrovic did her portrait and Hoffman modeled what eventually became this over-life-size statue of her mentor. Clad in an open-collared smock and loose trousers, the figure peers intently at the lump of clay waiting to be modeled in his hand. This monumental image portrays Mestrovic, who later settled in the United States, as a heroic artist at the height of his creative powers.