Her early career was influenced by the Noor Eesti (‘Young Estonia’) group of artists who favoured Art Nouveau.

[2] She specialized in portrait sculptures attracting international admirers from the political, social, artistic, literary and theatrical worlds.

It is clear that Gordine's approach to sculpture was considerably shaped by the example of the pre-First World War Noor Eesti (‘Young Estonia’) a group of artists who championed Art Nouveau in the country.

Gordin gallicised her surname by adding an "e" perhaps in an effort to make it sound more Russian and always denied or deflected suggestions that she was Jewish.

The following year she was invited to exhibit at the Salon des Tuileries where her design of the head & torso of a Chinese philosopher earned enthusiastic reviews; The Straits Times (1932) wrote: "Like Byron, one morning Dora Gordine woke up famous".

It was a huge success and all her work was sold, amongst which was Javanese Head bought by Samuel Courtauld for the Tate Gallery collection.

[13] The independent income from Hare allowed Dora to build Dorich House in Kingston Vale, her studio and a showcase for her work.

There were also overseas commissions including the Kwa Nin, whose head sculpture Gordine called The Chinese Lady of Peace[14] and a low-relief at Gray's Inn to Sun Yat-Sen, the former leader of China.

In October 1945 she had a solo exhibition at the Leicester Galleries, in which The Times described her as having ‘much ability, though she is eclectic in her inspiration, being influenced by works from many schools and periods – Indian and Egyptian among others.

[20] In 1948 she was commissioned to produce a sculpture to stand in the new mother and baby unit at Holloway Prison in north London, paid for by the City financier and former suffragette Gordon Holmes.

Gordine's last public commission, the 2–5 m (8') long Mother and Child was made for the entrance hall of the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey, in 1963.

As Gordine's client base became smaller and health problems undermined her ability to work to the standard she had during the 1920s, her eyesight deteriorated and she had arthritis in her shoulders and arms causing her career to end in the 1970s.

In 1994, it was acquired by Kingston University and was refurbished and formally opened as a museum in 1996, housing Gordine's collection of bronze and plaster sculptures and many of her paintings and drawings.