biography of Hiram POWERS (1805-1873)

Birth place: on a farm near Woodstock, VT

Death place: Florence, Italy

Profession: Sculptor

Studied: Frederick Eckstein, Cincinnati, c.1823-24

Exhibited: The Greek Slave" toured London and the United States, 1847; NAD, 1867; PAFA Ann., 1878"

Member: honorary NA, 1837

Work: BMFA, PAFA, Cincinnati AM; MMA; NMAA; VMFA; State House, Boston; his Franklin" and "Jefferson,"are at the Capitol Bldg., Wash., DC; copies of the "Greek Slave" can be found at CGA, Brooklyn Mus., Newark Mus., and Yale Univ. Art Gal."

Comments: As a child, his family moved to Ohio, settling near Cincinnati, where his father soon died. In 1822, Powers went to work as a mechanic at the Luman Watson clock and organ factory. About the same time he began experimenting with sculpture, executing a small wax medallion of Aaron Corwin (1823) and learning clay modeling and plaster casting from Eckstein. About 1828, he was put in charge of the mechanical section at Dorfeuille's Western Museum in Cincinnati; among his projects was an animated tableau of Dante's Inferno which was made by placing clockwork mechanisms in a group of old wax figures which were remodeled by Powers. He began making portrait busts of friends, attracting the attention of Nicolas Longworth, a wealthy art patron. Believing in Powers' talent and realizing that the East coast offered more possibilities for commissions, he helped finance Powers' move to Wash., DC, in 1834. Powers' career was soon given a powerful boost by his first major work, a portrait bust of President Andrew Jackson, modeled from life in the White House in 1835. This encouraged other portrait commissions and for several years he modeled the busts of many of the leading men of Washington, including Chief Justice John Marshall, Daniel Webster, Martin Van Buren, and John Quincy Adams. He also traveled to Boston and New York City to fulfill portrait requests. In 1837 he sailed for Italy with his family and, after a few months in Paris, settled in Florence, where he was to spend the rest of his life. Commissions were difficult to come by at first, even with the help of Horatio Greenough, but by 1842 Powers had gained tremendous respect as a portraitist, recognized for his naturalism and his ability to capture the essense of his sitter. Between 1842 and 1855 he completed about 150 busts, sometimes receiving up to $1000 for one. Like other sculptors of his day, including Greenough, he was interested in undertaking ideal subject and began executing ideal" busts in the early 1840s, and in 1845 produced the popular "Persephone." In October 1842 he began work on his first full-length ideal sculpture to be put into marble, his "Greek Slave." The international success of this work, completed in 1843, established Powers as the leading American sculptor of his day. Although the exhibition of nudes in America had previously caused controversy, a brilliant promotional effort by Powers agent, Miner Kellogg, pursuaded the American audience to look at the work as a Christian morality tale, and to sympathize with the plight of the young girl and see her nudity as an emblem of her innocence and chasteness. When it toured the United States in 1847, the sculpture was a phenomenal success, bringing $23,000 in ticket sales. The original work was sold in London and Powers sold six marble copies for about $4000 each, as well as many small replicas. For the rest of his career, Powers continued to make both portraits and ideal sculpture. He was among the sculptors commissioned to create works for the Capitol in Washington, DC, completing statues of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson for the Senate and House wings. His last full-size sculpture, "The Last of the Tribe" (1872) depicts a Native American woman running and looking over her shoulder.

Sources: G&W; DAB; Taft, History of American Sculptor; Gardner, Yankee Stonecutters; Swan, BA; Rutledge, PA; Cowdrey, NAD; Lee, Familiar Sketches of Sculpture and Sculptors; Rutledge, MHS; Craven, Sculpture in America, 111-123; Baigell, Dictionary; P&H Samuels, 380; Falk, Exh. Record Series.