Malvina Hoffman: Legacy

Please use this guide as a starting point for your research. If you need further assistance, contact us via email at reflib@fieldmuseum.org

The Field Museum commissioned talented sculptor Malvina Hoffman to create bronze sculptures for an exhibition called The Races of Mankind. A gifted artist who studied under Rodin—and a woman in a male-driven art world—Hoffman traveled the globe in order to sculpt many of her subjects from life. The resulting sculptures were intended to portray “racial types,” as the theory of the day categorized them.  The Hall of Man opened on 6 June 1933 at the time of the opening of the Century of Progress Exposition. and closed in 1968 to make room for the 75th Anniversary Exhibit. Until recently when a new exhibit opened, fewer than 20 sculptures remained on display, with the majority in storage in the Anthropology collections.

Field Museum Resources & Publications

• Anthropology Collections EMu (Electronic Museum) database
• A vertical file of related articles is available to view by appointment

Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees

• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1930, pp. 321-322.
• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1931, pp. 25-26, 69-71.
• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1932, pp. 310.
• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1933, pp. 15-16, 29, 39.
• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1934, p. 167.
• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1935, p. 303.
• Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year 1971-1972, p. 30.

Field Museum newsletters 

• Simms, Stephen C. "Exhibits to Visualize 1,500,000,000 Years of Life." Field Museum News 1, no. 4, April 1930, pp. 3-4.
• “To Collect for New Halls.” Field Museum News 1, no.6, June 1930, p.1.
• “Sculptress’ Work Progresses.” Field Museum News 2, no. 10, Oct. 1931, p.4.
• Laufer, Berthold. “The Projected Hall of the Races of Mankind (Chauncey Keep Memorial Hall).” Field Museum News 2, no. 12, Dec. 1931, p.3.
• “Bronzes Presented by President Field.” Field Museum News 2, no. 12, Dec. 1931, p.2.
• “Sculptor Completes Bronzes of Oriental Peoples.” Field Museum News 4, no. 2, Feb. 1933, pp.1-2.
• Laufer, Berthold. “Hall of the Races of Mankind (Chauncey Keep Memorial Hall) opens June 6.” Field Museum News 4, no. 6, June 1933, p.1.
• “New Bronzes Added to Keep Hall.” Field Museum News 4, no. 11, Nov. 1933, p.1.
• “Bronzes Added to Chauncey Keep Hall.” Field Museum News 5, no. 4, April 1934, p.1.
• “Eight New Sculptures of Racial Types Added to Chauncey Keep Memorial Hall.” Field Museum News 5, no. 11, Nov. 1934, p.3.
• “Hall of Races completed.” Field Museum News 6, no. 2, Feb. 1935, p.3.
• “Types of Races to be Pictured in Field Museum News.”  Field Museum News 6, no. 10, Oct. 1935, p.4.
• “Sculptures Illustrate Europe’s Chief Racial Types.”  Field Museum News 7, no.1, Jan. 1936, p.3.
• “Tibetan Man and Woman Depicted in Sculptures.”  Field Museum News 7, no.2, Feb. 1936, p.4.
• “Australian Man, Woman and Child Shown in Sculptures.” Field Museum News 7, no.3, March 1936, p.3.
• “Japanese Racial Types Shown in Chauncey Keep Hall.”  Field Museum News 7, no.4, April 1936, p.3.
• “African Bushman Family Depicted in Bronze Sculpture.” Field Museum News 7, no.5, May 1936, p.4.
• “Eskimo Types Illustrated.” Field Museum News 7, no.6, June 1936, p.4.
• “Chinese Types Portrayed in Hall of Races.” Field Museum News 7, no.7, July 1936, p.3.
• “Breton and Lapp Types Depicted in Bronze.” Field Museum News 7, no.8, August 1936, p.4.
• “Senegalese Drummer in Bronze by Malvina Hoffman.” Field Museum News 7, no.9, September 1936, p.4.
• “Malvina Hoffman Writes Story on Her life and Work.” Field Museum News 7, no.10, October 1936, p.2.
• “A Tamil of South India Portrayed in Bronze.” Field Museum News 7, no.10, October 1936, p.4.
• “Hawaiian Surf-board Rider Typifies Polynesian Race.” Field Museum News 7, no.11, November 1936, p.4.
• “American Indian Types by Malvina Hoffman.” Field Museum News 7, no.12, December 1936, p.3.
• “Mrs. F. D. Roosevelt Writes of Field Museum Visit.” Field Museum News 8, no.1, January 1937, p.1.
• “Pygmies of Ituri Forest.” Field Museum News 8, no.1, January 1937, p.3.
• “Primitive Vedda of Ceylon in Races of Man series.” Field Museum News 8, no.2, February 1937, p.4.
• “Basque and Georgian Races Depicted.” Field Museum News 8, no.3, March 1937, p.3.
• “Kashmiri in Meditation.” Field Museum News 8, no.5, May 1937, p.4.
• “A New York boy, 14 years old, is 20,000,000th Visitor.” Field Museum News 8, no.9, September 1937, p.3. 
• “‘Parade of the Races’ – Sunday Tour Subject.” Field Museum News 9, no.3, March 1938, p.4.
• “Sunday Lecture Tours in May Feature Hoffman Sculptures.” Field Museum News 9, no.5, May 1938, p.4
• “Crown Prince of Sweden Visits Field Museum.” Field Museum News 9, no.8, August 1938, p.2. 
• “Pygmy Fire Maker.” Field Museum News 9, no.12, December 1938, p.2.
• “A Book that is Different.” Field Museum News 10, no.3, March 1939, p.7. 
• “‘Parade of the Races’ offered on Sunday tours in May.” Field Museum News 10, no.5, March 1928, p.8.
• “Danish and Norwegian Royalty Visit Field Museum.” Field Museum News 10, no.6, June 1939, p.2. 
• “Physical Anthropology Exhibit.” Field Museum News 11, no.1, January 1940, p.5.
• “Lord Lothian, British Ambassador, among Distinguished Visitors.” Field Museum News 11, no.2, February 1940, p.6.
• “Layman Lectures on Sundays to begin November 3 with ‘The parade of races’ Illustrated with Malvina Hoffman Sculptures.” Field Museum News 11, no.11, November 1940, p.3.
• “The Legacy of Malvina Hoffman.”Bulletin of the Field Museum of Natural History 37, no. 9 (Sept. 1966): 3.
• “75th Anniversary Exhibit.” Bulletin of the Field Museum of Natural History 40, no.4, April 1969, p.8-9.
• “The Legacy of Malvina Hoffman.” Bulletin of the Field Museum of Natural History 50, no.9, October 1979, p.12-13.
• “The Art of Malvina Hoffman – Additional Pieces Now on View on Ground Floor.”  Bulletin of the Field Museum of Natural History 50, no.9, October 1979, p.14-15.
• “A Reunion of Sorts.” Bulletin of the Field Museum of Natural History 54, no.2, February 1983, p.7.

© The Field Museum, CSGN77466. January 1930.

© The Field Museum, GN79365.