The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1873-07-24

AA- oto-f41if 81 tuEH IHIE Us IU|IEIt.
whose subjective life w0s fan 81 slfanc.
and almost pathetic love 81 lae beautiful
while the objective career was almost event
less Is exceedingly difficult Of writing.
They are, IN some sense. the Robinson
eTisoes OF Greenland, whose journeys and
dwellings on strange islands cannot DC
written n books but must Be told in form
ana color, or IN brief seizures Of song
The biography of Hiram Powers. the
son 81 Vermont farmer, eight OF nine
born AZ Woodstock, July 80, 1895, differs
~ no wise, for many years, from that Of the
yenturesome New England bov. with whom
the world IS an oyster, and brain the sword
70 open II. He received the rudimentarv
education common to boys in his day at the
little gray school house Of Woodstock. and
/ by dint Of accident and native aptitude-the
boy being father 10 the man in these rcspects
always picked up fair knowledge of
drawing. Hills, trees, rocks, the men Of
ms native town. possibly his own bare feet
and those Of many aplaymate, educated his
eye to form, his feeling to a perception Of
the beautiful in somewhat the same man
ner; though not as completely as the
Greek was educated. Dmwing and some
skill in handicraft gave him a free cultured
hand to a limited extent, and better than
all, perception of the real needs Of artistic
expression. Thus, both native bent and life
made him a sculptor, and developed the
ideal IN him, without the oriental revel in
color for color's sake which is represented
IN painting He became a great sculptor
because the colorless perspective Of New
England life and landscape, OF New
England soul and beauty, made him such.
The deep and underlying instinct that rem
ders the New England perception Of the
beautiful ideal rather than emotional. ike
sculpture rather than like painting, a little
spectrh always, because lacking in warmth
was a distinctive trait of his originality.
and appeared in all Of his works.
The death of his father when he was
lad left him penniless, almoss homeless; and,
like many another New England boy, he
went westward, and settled in Cincinnati,
then on the verge of the horizon, where he
was employed in the reading room of a no.
tel. Afterward he became clerk in pro-
duce store; later still he.entered the service
of clockmakcr, for whom he alternately
collected bills and mended time-pieces.
By-and-by, asst generally comes to those
who have the daring to grasp it, his oppor-
tunity came. a Prussian sculptor engaged
at Cincinnati on bust of General jackson,
who was just then the hero Of this hero
worshipping people, found something in the
clockmaker's apprentice, and instructed him
betimes in modelling in clay, an instruction
and interest in his fortunes which he justi-
fed by executing several busts and medal
lions, which, being not without merit,
tempted ambition to its utmost verge and
gave new current to his life, though not
to his dreams. Now came years of super
though not exactly the kind of work
adapted to his fibre, served, nevertheless
the purpose of an art. educator; for the
mind that must, finds the beautiful in every
thing, and supplements the crude in what
soever it lacks. So, after wilhelm 1885,
to be exaet-having long enough had the
care of wax works, young Powers, now
thirty, with a kind of infinite career Just
opening before him, set out for Washington,
and betook himself there to the modelling
of prominent men-that is to say, Of poll.
ticians, who were more famous then, though
not more notorious, than they are now-a-
days He had, while in Cincinnati, at
tracted the attention of Mr.. Longworth,
who became his first patron and with whose
assistance, and the money he had himself
amassed he undertook his journey to Flor
ence. From the date of that journey he
has lived in Italy.
His pot-boilers we're still busts in clay
but after a years residence, having gained
considerable skill Of hand, he produced bis
first ideal statute Of Eve, y which had mer-
its so great that Thornwaldsen, of sympa
thetic career, the wondrous master of lions,
pronounced it masterpiece. A year latei
he produced the "Greek Slave, . which rem.
dered his fame universal Two copies OF
this work exist in New York collections
the one in possession of Dir. A. T. Stewart,
the other, and the last he ever made, hence
of exceeding interest, owned by<Mr. +. W.
Stoughten His letter to the latter, ex-
planning that he should never make another
repetition, was published in this journal
several years ago. Six repetitions in all are
believed to exist in marble, with innumera-
BILE multiplications in plaster and Parian.
This work, BY which he is best known,
placed him in the foremost rank Of living
sculptors Among his other well known
creations are the 'Fisher Boy Of which
there are three repetitions in marble; II
Penseroso - ''Proserpine' bust; ''Califor-
MAJ an America, which was modelled
for the Crystal Palace at sydenham, Eng
land statues Of Washington and Calhoun,
and the 'sIndian Girl, " another ideal master
piece. He has produced busts of Adams,
Jackson, Judge Marshall, Edward Everett,
Martin Van Buren,, and many others. His
bronze statue of Webster, in the State
House grounds Of Boston, is among bis
later works. His last ideal work, Para.
disc Lost, is in possession Of Mr.. n. D.
Morgan, of Brooklyn.
He was not only a sculptor, but thought
full man and passionate lover Of his coun.
try.
Mr. Powers died Of an affection of the
throat, with which he had been long af-
iicted.
THE following we clip from the Yicks
burg Herald Of the 9th inst, paper that
is frst-class authority about everything,
and give it place in our columns with nc