Jackson Free Press

American sculptor Malvina Hoffman's work and writings live in the Mississippi Museum of Art's archive, but tonight the public has the opportunity to see and learn about her life during "Unburied Treasures," the museum's monthly art lecture series.

Hoffman was born in New York City in 1887. She studied art at the Art Students League of New York, and in 1930, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago commissioned her to sculpt a 105-piece series titled "The Races of Mankind," featuring humans from different cultures. She sculpted the series from sketches she made while traveling the world with anthropologists.

Hoffman also sculpted several war memorials such as "The Sacrifice," a memorial to Robert Bacon, a Harvard University graduate and U.S. ambassador to France during Word War I. In 1939, Hoffman wrote, "Sculpture Inside and Out," an instructional guide to sculpture. She also wrote "Heads and Tales" a book about her travels for "Races of Mankind" in 1943, and "Yesterday is Tomorrow," an autobiography, in 1965.

At tonight's event, Dr. Laura Magee, retired arts education director for Pittsburgh Public Schools, will present a lecture about Hoffman's work. The lecture includes a reading from Hoffman's writings and a musical performance by Szlubowska Duo, a piano duo.

"Unburied Treasures" begins at 5:30 p.m. in the museum's Trustmark Grand Hall with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. The lecture starts at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The monthly series features work from the museum's archives that isn't currently on display. This year's series highlights women artists.