HIRAM

POWERS (1805-1873)  , American sculptor, the son of a farmer, was born at Woodstock, Vermont, on the 29th of June 18o5 . In 1819 his father removed to Ohio, about six miles from Cincinnati, where the son attended school for about a year, staying meanwhile with his brother, alawyerin Cincinnati . After leaving school he found employment in superintending a reading-room in connexion with the chief hotel of the town, but, being, in his own words, " forced at last to leave that place as his clothes and shoes were fast leaving him," he became a clerk in a general store . His second employer in this line of business having invested his capital in a clock and organ factory, Powers set himself to master the construction of the instruments, displaying an aptitude which in a short time enabled him to become the first mechanic in the factory . In 1826 he began to frequent the studio of Mr Eckstein, and at once conceived a strong passion for the art of sculpture . His proficiency in modelling secured him the situation of general assistant and artist of the Western Museum, kept by a Frenchman named Dorfeuille, where his ingenious representation of the infernal regions to illustrate the more striking scenes in the poem of Dante met with extraordinary success . After studying thoroughly the art of modelling and casting, at the end of 1834 he went to Washington, where his remarkable gifts soon awakened general attention . In 1837 he settled in Florence, where he remained till his death . While he found it profitable to devote the greater part of his time to busts, his best efforts were bestowed on ideal work . In 1839 his statue of " Eve " excited the warm admiration of Thorwaldsen, and in 1843 he produced his celebrated " Greek Slave," which at once gave him a place among the leading sculptors of his time . Among the best known of his other ideal statues are the " Fisher Boy." " Il Penseroso," Proserpine," " California," " America " (modelled for the Crystal Palace, Sydenham), and the " Last of his Tribe." He died on the 27th of June 1873 . See an article by T .

A .

Trollope in Lippincott's Magazine for February 1875 .