Artist

Hiram Powers

born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873
Media - powers_hiram.jpg - 90517
Courtesy Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Born
Woodstock, Vermont, United States
Died
Florence, Italy
Active in
  • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
  • Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Biography

Born and grew up in Vermont, later lived in Ohio before moving to Florence, Italy, in 1837. Sculptor who produced lifelike portrait busts such as Andrew Jackson (1835) and idealized figures such as The Greek Slave (1843) that helped to overcome the public's dislike of female nudity in art.

Charles Sullivan, ed American Beauties: Women in Art and Literature (New York: Henry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with National Museum of American Art, 1993)

Works by this artist (164 items)

Hiram Powers, Dr. James G. Playfair, modeled 1845, plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.111
Dr. James G. Playfair
Datemodeled 1845
plaster
On view
Hiram Powers, Louisa Powers' Hand, 1839, plaster and fabric trim, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.128
Louisa Powers’ Hand
Date1839
plaster and fabric trim
On view
Hiram Powers, Anna Hazard Barker Ward, modeled 1837-1838, plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.35
Anna Hazard Barker Ward
Datemodeled 1837-1838
plaster
On view
Hiram Powers, Hope, modeled 1866, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.27
Hope
Datemodeled 1866
marble
On view

Videos

Exhibitions

Media - 1968.155.1 - SAAM-1968.155.1_3 - 80074
Measured Perfection: Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave
July 2, 2015July 8, 2017
This one-gallery exhibition reveals the inner workings of the studio of Hiram Powers (1805–1873), who was among the most innovative sculptors of the nineteenth century, eagerly adapting long-standing sculpture traditions to new technologies of his age.