Hiram Powers

Hiram Powers (1805-1873), American sculptor, born near Woodstock, Vermont. His skill in making models for a wax museum attracted attention, and he received numerous commissions for portrait busts. In 1837 Powers went to Florence, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1843 he completed the Greek Slave, a marble figure of a naked woman in chains leaning against a draped pillar. It was shown at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and became one of the most celebrated statues of the time. Many replicas of it were made. Powers also made statues of American statesmen, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, for the Capitol in Washington, D.C.