Horatio Greenough

Copied Hiram Powers, Horatio Greenough, modeled 1838, plaster, 21 3814 1410 14 in. (54.236.226.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.42
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Horatio Greenough
Artist
Date
modeled 1838
Dimensions
21 3814 1410 14 in. (54.236.226.1 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Keywords
  • Study — sculpture model
  • Occupation — art — sculptor
  • Portrait male — Greenough, Horatio — bust
Object Number
1968.155.42

Artwork Description

Hiram Powers met the American sculptor Horatio Greenough in 1836, shortly before Greenough settled in Florence, Italy, with his wife. The two men became close friends, and in 1838, Powers modeled this bust of the thirty-three-year-old artist. As a child, Greenough had experimented with sculpture in alabaster and clay until a local stonecutter taught him how to carve in marble. But his father opposed a career in art, and Greenough attended Harvard for four years before he was able to travel to Rome to study sculpture. In 1832 he became one of the first American artists to receive a national commission when Congress asked him to create a sculpture of George Washington for the United States Capitol. The statue is now in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Greenough must have been an inspiration to Powers, who was the same age and following a similar career path, and in this bust the strong features and confident expression evoke a young, successful man who was proud of his early achievements.