Hiram Powers, Robert Todd Lytle, modeled 1835 and 1847/8, carved 1850-51, marble. Private collection

CINCINNATI.-Organized by the Taft Museum of Art, Hiram Powers: Genius in Marble will explore the work of one of the most celebrated American artists of the 19th-century, Cincinnati’s adopted son, Hiram Powers (1805-1873). The exhibition, which runs through August 12, will examine his working methods and the innovations Powers introduced to the sculptural process.
Best known for his full-length nude marble statue of The Greek Slave, which created an international sensation at mid-century, Powers was also recognized as one of the greatest portrait sculptors of all times. From 1840 to 1870 “Hiram Powers” was a household name, much like Picasso is today, but remarkably, he has never been the subject of a major exhibition. The first “solo” exhibition of Powers’ work, however, took place at the Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House, today’s Taft Museum of Art, in 1842 when Nicholas Longworth opened his private residence to allow the public to view Powers’s newest sculpture. The Taft Museum is honored to continue this tradition by presenting the first retrospective exhibition of this “American Michelangelo.” Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=20284