CC0 · no rights reserved
Clytie
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Clytie is a water nymph from Greek mythology who fell in love with Apollo and never took her eyes off him as he flew across the sky. Eventually, she became a sunflower, forever turning its face with the course of the sun. Hiram Powers likely based this sculpture on an antique Roman bust in the British Museum that was widely reproduced across Europe. Powers added a sunflower to the figure’s hair to symbolize Clytie’s fate.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineClytie. modeled ca. 1867. Hiram Powers, born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson. CC0.
