ABOUT THIS COLLECTION  
Neoclassicism was a revival of ancient forms and ideas that emerged in late 18th-century Europe and North America. In the 19th century, American sculptors wanted to show their classical (European) bona fides, but also express an authentic American school. One of the leading American Neoclassical sculptors of the time was Hiram Powers (1805-1873), who produced eight of the 12 works in this collection. The remaining four are by Horatio Greenough (1805-1852), who made the bust of Samuel F.B. Morse (1831), and Moses Ezekiel, the first American-born Jewish artist to receive international acclaim, who created Jessica (1880), based on a character from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The remaining two are the portrait of Hiram Powers by his son, Longfellow Powers (1866), and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who produced the portrait of Margaretta Willoughby Pierrepont (1874). All left the U.S. to practice their art in Florence and Rome (except Saint-Gaudens), where they had access to good supplies of marble and traditions of stone-cutting and bronze casting.
 
COLLECTION DETAILS
Series title: Marble Busts
Series size: 12 artworks
Edition: Limited edition of 1000
Proof of Ownership: Certification on the Ethereum blockchain under the ERC1155 protocol. Each artwork is delivered privately and directly to collectors as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarantee proof of ownership.
Format: Pieces consist of PNG files sized 2160x3840 pixels - 150 dpi.
Medium: Sculpture
Artwork materials:  Marble
Contract Address: 0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e
ID: 2749212597480566...
 
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born on a farm in Vermont, Hiram Powers began studying sculpture in 1828. He showed great ability and after a number of commissions was asked to sculpt a portrait of President Andrew Jackson in the mid-1830s. The result got lots of attention and more commissions. Powers moved to Florence in 1837, where he developed a thriving business in portraiture and parlor busts. He also devoted his time to creating life-size, full-figure subjects, one of which, produced in 1843, is his most celebrated statue, The Greek Slave, which placed him among the leading sculptors of his day. It attracted more than 100,000 viewers when it toured America in 1847; it was also adopted by the abolitionist cause and copies of it appeared in many Union-supporting state houses. He became a teacher at the Florence Accademia and remained in Italy until his death in 1873. In 2007, the Taft Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio presented the first major exhibition devoted to his work, "Hiram Powers: Genius in Marble."
 
COLLECTION CREDITS
Historical curatorship: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
Artwork: Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Horatio Greenough, Hiram Powers, Longworth Powers, Moses Ezekiel
Year of original publication: 1828 - 1880
Post-production: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
Digital art supervisor: Marie-Lou Desmeules
Editorial: Braden Phillips
Historical research: Evangelos Rosios, Braden Phillips
Executive production: Victor Zabrockis
 
RIGHTS OVERVIEW
Source of artwork: Smithsonian American Art Museum
Underlying work rights: CC0
Digital copyrights: No Additional Rights