Sculpture of The United States - The Italian Years

The Italian Years

In the 1830s, the first generation of notable American sculptors studied and lived in Italy, particularly in Florence and Rome, creating in the Neoclassic style. At that time, Italy "provided the proper atmosphere, brought the sculptor close to the great monuments of antiquity, and provided museum collections that were available to study." They also gave the artists access to the carvers of Italy who translated their clay works into marble. During this period the themes from which the subjects of sculptural works were chosen tended to be drawn from antiquity, the exceptions being portraits (whose subjects were frequently shown wearing Roman or Greek garb) or works that included Native Americans. These artists included Horatio Greenough (1805–1852), Hiram Powers (1805–1873), Thomas Crawford (1814–1857), Thomas Ball (1819–1911) and his son-in-law William Couper (1853–1942), Harriet Hosmer (1830–1908), Chauncey Ives (1810–1894), Randolph Rogers (1825–1892) and (somewhat later) William Henry Rinehart (1825–1874).

• Horatio Greenough, Abdiel 1838-43

• Thomas Crawford, David Triumphant, 1848

• Hiram Powers — The Greek Slave, Raby Castle, 1844

• Randolph Rogers, Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii, 1856

• The Willing Captive by Chauncey Ives, Newark, New Jersey 1871