Fisher Boy

Copied Hiram Powers, Fisher Boy, modeled 1844, plaster, 46 x 15 1⁄8 x 11 3⁄4 in. (116.7 x 38.4 x 29.8 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
Location
Dimensions
46 x 15 1⁄8 x 11 3⁄4 in. (116.7 x 38.4 x 29.8 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Subjects
  • Study — sculpture model
  • Figure male — full length
  • Figure male — nude
  • Recreation — sport and play — fishing
  • Figure male — child
Object Number
1968.155.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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.