Hiram PowersAmerican, 1805–1873James Gibson Powers
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Smithsonian American Art Museum
RoomLuce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 17BWashington, D.C., United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 7 days ago
- In this state since
- Sep 25, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the sculpture
James (Jimmy) Gibson Powers was Hiram Powers’s first child. He died from a brain tumor in 1838, when he was only four years old. Shortly after the boy died, Powers took a cast of his son’s face to preserve his likeness and perhaps use as a model for a bust. Some of the child’s eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair are embedded in the plaster, making the tragedy of his death real to viewers of this piece more than a century later.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1968.155.110
What it shows
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 7 days ago
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
