Head
Elie Nadelman
American, born Poland. 1882–1946
c. 1904–07
An ink-on-paper study of a human head in which Nadelman reduces features to rounded planes and rhythmic hatchings, experimenting with a mask-like, sculptural form.
It reads like a carved mask floating on brown paper—closed, solemn shapes and parallel strokes turn the face into a compact, almost abstract emblem that feels both archaic and deliberately modern.
The drawing reveals Nadelman’s early move toward simplified, folk- and classical-inspired forms that would shape his modernist sculpture and help bridge European primitivism with the American avant-garde.
Medium
Ink on paper
Dimensions
6 5/8 x 5 1/2" (16.8 x 14 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Lincoln Kirstein in honor of René d'Harnoncourt
Accession
253.1969
Palette
Exhibitions
