Cast of an Unidentified Baby's Left Hand Pressing Down
Social Media Share Tools
Object Details
- Artist
- Hiram Powers, born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873
- Luce Center Label
- There are many plaster fragments of anatomical details in the Hiram Powers collection that cannot be identified. These may have been models for the hands and feet of full-size sculptures, such as Left Hand Clutching Scroll, which was a study for the Thomas Jefferson statue that stands in the U.S. Capitol, and Left Hand Pressing Down, which was for the statue Greek Slave. Many pieces were also likely commissioned as individual works. The popularity of Loulie’s Hand, a sculpture based on Powers’s daughter’s hand, may have influenced visitors to request casts of their own children’s and loved one’s hands.
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
- n.d.
- Object number
- 1968.155.154
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- plaster and string
- Dimensions
- 2 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 in. (5.8 x 11.5 x 8.3 cm.)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Figure\fragment\hand
- Record ID
- saam_1968.155.154
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7459edb4c-2fcc-4e4a-b5b2-8069a76ca1fa
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.