Left Hand Clutching Scroll

Hiram Powers, Left Hand Clutching Scroll, n.d., plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.133
Copied Hiram Powers, Left Hand Clutching Scroll, n.d., plaster, 10 x 7 3⁄4 x 3 3⁄4 in. (25.4 x 19.7 x 9.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.133
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Left Hand Clutching Scroll
Artist
Date
n.d.
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
10 x 7 3⁄4 x 3 3⁄4 in. (25.4 x 19.7 x 9.5 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — fragment — hand
  • Study — sculpture model
  • Study — anatomical study
Object Number
1968.155.133
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1968.155.133

Artwork Description

There are many plaster fragments of anatomical details in the Hiram Powers collection that cannot be identified. These may have been models for the hands and feet of full-size sculptures, such as Left Hand Clutching Scroll, which was a study for the Thomas Jefferson statue that stands in the U.S. Capitol, and Left Hand Pressing Down, which was for the statue Greek Slave. Many pieces were also likely commissioned as individual works. The popularity of Loulie’s Hand, a sculpture based on Powers’s daughter’s hand, may have influenced visitors to request casts of their own children’s and loved one’s hands.