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Preston Powers (1843 – 1931) was an American sculptor, painter, and teacher, born in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He is also known as William Preston Powers.
Biography
Powers studied with his father,
Hiram Powers
Hiram Powers (July 29, 1805 – June 27, 1873) was an American neoclassical sculptor. He was one of the first 19th-century American artists to gain an international reputation, largely based on his famous marble sculpture '' The Greek Slave''. ...
, a well known
Neo-classical sculptor and expatriate who lived in Italy. After returning to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the younger Powers worked as an artist in
Boston Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...
,
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and
Portland Maine. Powers eventually became his father's personal secretary, a position he held until Hiram Powers' death in 1873. Preston sued his mother for inadequate support after the details of his father's will became known, as it declared his widow as sole heir. In order to keep peace within the family, Preston Powers was made the supervisor of Hiram Powers' studio-workshop, which eventually closed in 1877. He later operated his own studio across the street from his mother's house but insisted on harassing her with additional lawsuits. Preston Powers died penniless in Florence, Italy, and was buried in the pauper's section of the Allori Protestant Cemetery located outside the city.
Work
200px, '' '', Colorado State Capitol">The Closing Era'', Colorado State Capitol, Denver, Colorado">Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
file:Collamer.jpg, 250px, Jacob Collamer (Powers), Statue of Jacob Collamer, part of the U.S.
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hal ...
Powers' statue ''The Closing of an Era'' at the
Colorado State Capitol
The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, United States, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, and the Co ...
in
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
depicts an
American Indian in triumph over a fallen
bison
A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American ...
. The granite for the statue came from
Fremont County, Colorado. The sculpture was completed for the
Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Powers' friend
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
wrote the poem inscribed at the base of the monument.
Preston Powers sculpted several portrait busts; some of his most notable creations include:
* Lady Alexander Mackenzie of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
*
United States Senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
Justin Smith Morrill
Justin Smith Morrill (April 14, 1810December 28, 1898) was an American politician and entrepreneur who represented Vermont in the United States House of Representatives (1855–1867) and United States Senate (1867–1898). He is most widely reme ...
of
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
* James Lawrence,
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
*
Alvin Adams, founder of
Adams Express Company
Adams Funds, formerly Adams Express Company, is an investment company made up of Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (), a publicly traded diversified equity fund, and Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. (), formerly Petroleum & Resources Corp., a ...
*
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
* J. C. Whiting
* Senator
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...
*
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
*
Marshall Field
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...
and Son,
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
* Mrs. Wheatland, Salem, Massachusetts
* Eugene Sargent, Boston
* Mrs. John E. Hatch, Cincinnati
* Senator
Jacob Collamer
Jacob Collamer (January 8, 1791 – November 9, 1865) was an American politician from Vermont. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Postmaster General in the cabinet of President Zachary Taylor, and as a U.S. Senator.
Born i ...
of Vermont, installed in the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
, in Washington, D.C., as part of the
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hal ...
.
[Murdock, Myrtle Chaney, National Statuary Hall in the Nation’s Capitol, Monumental Press, Inc., Washington, D.C., 1955 pp. 78-79]
* Bishop
George Burgess, first Episcopal bishop of Maine
*
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...
, for the New Church in England
* Reuben Springer, for the Music Hall in Cincinnati
His students include
Alice Cooper
Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
and
Elsie Ward
Elsie Ward (also known as Elsie Ward Hering) (1871–1923)Allen, H. C. (2007). ''Early Colorado women artists'' (Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado at Denver, 2007) (pp. 1-158).. was an American sculptor born in Fayette, Missouri. Her ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Hiram
category:1843 births
category:1904 deaths
category:19th-century American male artists
category:19th-century American painters
category:19th-century American sculptors
category:20th-century American male artists
category:20th-century American painters
category:20th-century American sculptors
category:American expatriates in Italy
category:American male painters
category:American male sculptors
category:expatriates in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
category:sculptors from Massachusetts