CC0 · no rights reserved
Diana
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Hiram Powers modeled Diana for Lucius Manlius Sargent, who requested an ideal bust of a new subject. The figure of Diana was based on his sculpture America. To create a unique design, he altered her drapery and added a moon to the stars on her tiara. While carving the first marble replica for Sargent, Powers abandoned two blocks of marble before he found one with no flaws or obvious veins of color. The Museum’s version, carved in 1853, was discovered in an antique shop in Portugal more than a century later. It may have been commissioned by Lord Overstone or Peter Fairbairn, two of the artist’s patrons from England.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineDiana. 1853. Hiram Powers, born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William H. Gerdts. CC0.
