Measured Perfection: Hiram Powers' Greek Slave

July 3, 2015 - February 19, 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. The display draws from an extensive collection acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum directly from Powers’ studio in Florence, Italy, in 1968. Finished and unfinished artworks and a selection of tools reveal Powers’ creative process and ingenious experiments, including the highly controversial practice of body casting. A key object in the exhibition is the life-size plaster of Powers’ Greek Slave, the most highly acclaimed sculpture of the nineteenth century, so famous that Powers applied for a U.S. patent on the composition.