Fisher Boy

Copied Hiram Powers, Fisher Boy, modeled 1844, plaster, 4615 1811 34 in. (116.738.429.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.3
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Fisher Boy
Artist
Date
modeled 1844
Dimensions
4615 1811 34 in. (116.738.429.8 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure male — child
  • Recreation — sport and play — fishing
  • Figure male — nude
  • Figure male — full length
  • Study — sculpture model
Object Number
1968.155.3

Artwork Description

Hiram Powers started work on Fisher Boy in 1843, when the model for Greek Slave was almost complete. He was probably inspired by the statue Girl Holding a Shell to Her Ear, by German sculptor Carl Steinhauser, which was described as “a young girl listening to the sound of a shell.” The child in Fisher Boy stands on a beach with his ear to a conch shell, leaning on the tiller of a boat. The delicate facial features and relaxed pose evoke ancient Greek sculpture, which often depicted young men on the threshold of puberty.