Taft Museum of Art shows Hiram Powers ~ Genius in Marble

Monday, 21 May 2007 23:54

CINCINNATI, OHIO - 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.”

Although Powers moved to Italy in 1837 to master his craft, his roots were firmly planted in Cincinnati, where his family, friends, and lifelong supporters still lived. Featuring 40 sculptures spanning the artist’s career and 30 historic documents and artifacts, along with numerous period illustrations, the show offers an opportunity to understand the cultural climate in which Powers developed and which encouraged the merchants and statesmen of the nation, and later the nobility of Europe, to become his admiring patrons.

Sponsors for this exhibition are The Luce Foundation, Two Friends of the Taft Museum of Art, OAC/NEA, and the Walter I. Farmer Fund. Media sponsors WGUC 90.9/WVXU 91.7.

The Taft Museum of Art is at 316 Pike St., in downtown Cincinnati. The Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $7, $5 for seniors over 60 and students and free to everyone on Wednesday. Visit : www.taftmuseum.org/