Preston Powers
{{short description|American sculptor}}
{{infobox artist
| name = Preston Powers
| alt = William Preston Powers
| birth_date = 1843
| birth_place = Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
| death_date = 1931
| death_place = Florence, Italy
| field = American sculptor, painter, and teacher
| works = statue The Closing of an Era at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver
}}
Preston Powers (1843 – 1931) was an American sculptor, painter, and teacher, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He is also known as William Preston Powers.'Preston Powers.' American Art Museum Collections, Smithsonian Institution. [http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=3867], Accessed October 25, 2013
Biography
Powers studied with his father, Hiram Powers, a well known Neo-classical sculptor Mackay, James, The Dictionary of Sculptors in Bronze, Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk 1977 and expatriate who lived in Italy. After returning to the United States, the younger Powers worked as an artist in Boston Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and Portland Maine.Opitz, Glenn B, Editor, Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986 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.Wunder, Richard P. 1991. Hiram Powers:Life, Volume 1. University of Delaware Press, p. 20 Preston Powers died penniless in Florence, Italy, and was buried in the pauper's section of the Allori Protestant Cemetery located outside the city.'Preston Powers.' American Art Museum Collections, Smithsonian Institution. [http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=3867], Accessed October 25, 2013Wunder, Richard P. 1991. Hiram Powers:Life, Volume 1. University of Delaware Press, p. 20
Work
file:Closing of an Era statue in Denver, CO.jpg, Colorado State Capitol, Denver]]
file:Collamer.jpg of Jacob Collamer, part of the U.S. National Statuary Hall Collection]]
Powers' statue The Closing of an Era at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver depicts an American Indian in triumph over a fallen bison. 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 wrote the poem inscribed at the base of the monument.{{cite web
| url = https://publicartaroundtheworld.com/Closing_Era_Statue.html
| title = Closing Era statue
| publisher = Public Art Around the World
| accessdate = March 27, 2010
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100301234335/publicartaroundtheworld.com/Closing_Era_Statue.html
| archive-date = March 1, 2010
| url-status = dead
}}
Preston Powers sculpted several portrait busts; some of his most notable creations include:'Art and Artists.' 1883, May 25. In Daily Evening Transcript, Boston, Massachusetts
- Lady Alexander Mackenzie of Scotland
- United States Senator Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont
- James Lawrence, Boston, Massachusetts
- Alvin Adams, founder of Adams Express Company
- John Greenleaf Whittier
- J. C. Whiting
- Senator Charles Sumner
- President Ulysses S. Grant
- Marshall Field and Son, Chicago, Illinois
- Mrs. Wheatland, Salem, Massachusetts
- Eugene Sargent, Boston
- Mrs. John E. Hatch, Cincinnati
- Senator Jacob Collamer of Vermont, installed in the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.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, for the New Church in England
- Reuben Springer, for the Music Hall in Cincinnati
His students include Alice Cooper and Elsie Ward.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Preston Powers}}{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Hiram}}
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