GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Hiram Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont in 1805 and grew up in Ohio. With virtually no formal training, he began his career as a sculptor modelling figures for a Cincinnati wax museum. Encouraged by his success and by the support of local millionaire realtor and art patron, Nicholas Longworth, Powers moved to Washington, DC in 1834 where he modeled marble portraits of many eminent men, including Andrew Jackson. The naturalistic style of these portrait busts matched the aesthetic taste of the times in America. In 1837 Powers moved his family to Italy and opened a studio in Florence which became a center of attraction for American visitors. His most famous statue, the full-length nude figure, Greek Slave (1841-43), established Powers as the leading sculptor of his day. An embodiment of 19th-century melodramatic romanticism, Greek Slave revealed Powers' new neo-classic interest in idealized female figures.
Excerpt from
Gail Davitt, DMA unpublished material, 1986-1987.
NOTES
Hiram Powers (1805-1873, b. Woodstock, Vermont) worked in Italy
General Description from- Gail Davitt, biographical essays, education files, 1986-1987.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Greek Slave:The Washington, DC Legacy of Hiram Powers' 1840s Masterpiece~Read Evan J. Berkowitz's Smithsonian Insider blog post about the placement and recent 3-D printed replica of this sculpture.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
set operator as OR
apply to objects where constituent_id equals 1329
apply to constituents where id equals 1329
Apply to objects where number equals 1983.147
Apply to objects where number equals 1992.B.50
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
Hiram Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont in 1805 and grew up in Ohio. With virtually no formal training, he began his career as a sculptor modelling figures for a Cincinnati wax museum. Encouraged by his success and by the support of local millionaire realtor and art patron, Nicholas Longworth, Powers moved to Washington, DC in 1834 where he modeled marble portraits of many eminent men, including Andrew Jackson. The naturalistic style of these portrait busts matched the aesthetic taste of the times in America. In 1837 Powers moved his family to Italy and opened a studio in Florence which became a center of attraction for American visitors. His most famous statue, the full-length nude figure, Greek Slave (1841-43), established Powers as the leading sculptor of his day. An embodiment of 19th-century melodramatic romanticism, Greek Slave revealed Powers' new neo-classic interest in idealized female figures.
Excerpt from
Gail Davitt, DMA unpublished material, 1986-1987.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Greek Slave:The Washington, DC Legacy of Hiram Powers' 1840s Masterpiece~Read Evan J. Berkowitz's Smithsonian Insider blog post about the placement and recent 3-D printed replica of this sculpture.
Notes
Hiram Powers (1805-1873, b. Woodstock, Vermont) worked in Italy
General Description from- Gail Davitt, biographical essays, education files, 1986-1987.
rules
Apply To
Constituents
id
Equals
1329
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1983.147
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1992.B.50
source file
artists_and_designers-0156.xml.nores