The Races of Mankind

Afghan man of Irano-Afghan Caucasoid type, from The Races of Mankind by Malvina Hoffman (1929).

The Races of Mankind, also known as The Hall of Man, was an exhibition of a series of over 90 statues created for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago by sculptor Malvina Hoffman, representing the various races of humankind. Most of the statues were life-sized. The works were initially housed in the Hall 3, the Chauncey Keep Memorial Hall ("The Hall of Man").^[1]

Hoffman wrote about her travels around the world to draw and model the various different types of people in her book, Heads and Tales.^[2]

After a period of controversy as to whether or not the exhibit was racist, it was discontinued in 1969.^[3] Some of the works can be found in various different places in the museum. Others are in storage.

References