The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-06-28
GhnGtntelLiqetrter:


Hiram tOUetbs
A dispatch in another column ol Inis
mornings sIETEI4.IGBTCER announces the
,lesrh Of this distinguished sculptor, at
Florence, Italy, yesterday morning, after
lingering illness. Mr.. Powers was born
IN Woodstock, VT, July 90, 1905. he
WAS the eighth of family Of nine chill.
drcn, and passed his youth on his fathers
farm, acquiring the rudinents Of dis
trict school education, and some knoWl.
edge OF drawing and Of various. kinds OF
handicraIt. The farm proving unsuccess'
lul, he emigrated with the family to Ohio.
and upon the death Of his father, soon
alter established himself in Cincinnati,
where, after being successlVely employed
in reading room connected with one Of
tue hotels and in q produce store, he
procured situation with q olock.maker,
Tor whom he collected debts, besides
aiding In the mechanical part Of the bus
iness. About this time he became &C.
qusinled with German sculptor, from
whom he learned the art Of modelling In
plaster, aud alter little practice he wac
able to produce plaster busts Of consid'
erable merit. The taste for art iostered
by this employment induced him 70 form
4 connection with the Western Museum
At Cincinnati, the waxWork department
Of which was for seven years under his
direction. Aspiring to higher walk in
bis profession, and feeling that he might
depend Tor support upon his labors as .
sculptor, he repaired in 1895 to Wash
iugtun, and was for some time proatahly
engaged In modelling bustS oil distinguish.
I'd men. With theprOceeds derived from
these efforts and by the assistance Of the
late NICHOLAS LoNdwoRTH, Of Cincin'
natl, be was enabled in 1887 to carry
into efIect a long cherished desire
to visit Italy In the same year. he
established himself 10 Florence, which,
with the exception Of occasional visits
lp Rome and elsewhere, has continued
ever since TO be his home, and Tor several
months devoted himself chiefly to model.
Jug busts. Gradually gaining confidence
in his powers and facility in the use ol
the chlsel, he produced In 1888 an ideal
statue Of Eve, which excited the admira- |
lion OF the great TuoMRIsEN, who pro-
nounCed it work Of which any sculptor |
might be proud 10 claim as his masterpiece.
\ year later he finished the model OF his
Greek Slave" his most widely known
aud popular work, and OF which upward
III six duplicates in marble arc in exist
ruCe, besides an immense number Of plas.
ter casts and reduced copies in parian.
Among other well known works by him
ara the Fisher Boy" of which three
repelitions in marble have been produced;
II Penseroso;" Proserpine," bust
California" America" modelled for
the crystal palace at Sydenham, England
aud portrait statues Of Washington for
the State of Louisiana, and of Calhoun
Tor South Carolina, The latter, his best
work o. the kind. after suffering
shipwreck oil the coast OF Long Is
land, was safely deposited in Charleston.
OF his busts, which comprise by far the
greater part OF the productions OF his
rhisel, those Of ADAMS, JACKSON, WEB
STIR, CALHOUN, Chief Justice MARSHALL,
EVERETT, VAN buren, and other distin-
guished Americans, are we'll known and
striking specimens. Mr.. Powers was the
inventor Of a process Of modelling in plAs.
Ter, which by obviating the necessity oi
taking relay model Of the subject, greatly
expedites the labors Of the sculptor.
At his death, Mr.. Powers lacked but
one month OF being 50 years old, and his
name will be found among the greatest
sCulptOrs in the worlds history.