The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Nautch Dancer

c. 1930
sculptor

Waylande Gregory

(American, 1905–1971)
maker

Cowan Pottery Studio

(America, Rocky River, Ohio, 1920–1931)
America, Ohio, Cleveland
ceramic
Overall: 44.2 x 21.3 x 12.1 cm (17 3/8 x 8 3/8 x 4 3/4 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1930.118
Location: Not on view

Description

Gregory sculpted human and animal figures in eclectic styles ranging from realistic to highly stylized, as seen in this ceramic sculpture. It depicts Gilda Gray, a dancer notorious for her “bodyshaking . . . wicked torso movements” performed to jazz or blues music. In the 1925 Ziegfield Follies, Gray added exotic South Seas dances to her repertoire, including the “nautch dance,” named after the nautch—a traditional, East Indian, form-fitting, pleated dress—she wore during the performance. Although Gray refused the sculptor’s request for a personal modeling session, she did provide him with an onstage seat in the wings, from which he carefully studied her movements during several performances in Cleveland.
  • 1930
    Waylande Gregory [1905-1971], Warren Township, NJ, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1930-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Basset, Mark and Naumann, Victoria. Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland School. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. pp. 136-7.
    American Craft Museum. Craft in the Machine Age: The History of Twentieth-Century American Craft (1920–1945). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995. p 16.
    Hawley, Henry. “Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland Museum of Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 7 (September 1989): 238–263. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 248-249, fig. 14 www.jstor.org
    Robinson, William H., et. al. Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946: Community and Diversity in Early Modern America. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 172
    Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney, and Martin P. Eidelberg. Gifts from the Fire: American Ceramics, 1880-1950 : from the Collection of Martin Eidelberg. New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 172-173
  • Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 28-July 18, 2004).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 28 - July 18, 2004. "Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age", no exhibition catalogue.
    Craft in the Machine Age: European Influences on American Modernism, 1920-1945. American Craft Museum (organizer) (October 19, 1995-February 25, 1996); Fort Wayne Museum of Art (September 7-November 3, 1996); Akron Art Museum (January 25-March 30, 1997); Milwaukee Art Museum (June 15-August 15, 1997); Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art (September 1-November 30, 1997).
    Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 28-September 10, 1989).
    Art Deco. Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood, OH (organizer) (September 7-October 15, 1979).
    Retrospective Twenty-fifth Anniversary May Show. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 13-February 14, 1943).
    The May Show: 12th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 22-June 1, 1930).
  • {{cite web|title=Nautch Dancer|url=false|author=Waylande Gregory, Cowan Pottery Studio|year=c. 1930|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.118