Hope

Hiram Powers, Hope, modeled 1866, marble, 28 1⁄2 x 19 1⁄2 x 11 3⁄4 in. (72.5 x 49.4 x 29.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.27
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Artwork Details

Title
Hope
Artist
Date
modeled 1866
Location
Dimensions
28 1⁄2 x 19 1⁄2 x 11 3⁄4 in. (72.5 x 49.4 x 29.7 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Subjects
  • Allegory — quality — hope
  • Dress — historic — classical dress
Object Number
1968.155.27
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1968.155.27

Artwork Description

Hiram Powers sculpted this marble bust to personify Hope. A pious patron commissioned it, along with two others representing Faith and Charity, to embody the central virtues of Christianity. 
 
Representing an abstract, positive attribute as an idealized White woman in marble was a common convention in nineteenth-century European and American sculpture. In such instances, the flawless material whiteness of marble became associated with racialized whiteness and its presumed moral superiority.

Label text from The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture November 8, 2024 -- September 14, 2025