Faith
Artist
Hiram Powers
(American, 1805-1873)
CultureAmerican
Datemodeled ca. 1866-67
MediumMarble
DimensionsOverall: 28 1/2 x 19 5/8 x 12 1/8 in. (72.4 x 49.8 x 30.8 cm)
InscribedInscribed at rear:;
H. Powers;
Sculpt.
Credit LineGift of James H. Ricau and Museum purchase
Object number86.500
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 208
Label TextHiram Powers American, 1805–1873 left to right Faith, modeled ca. 1866–67 Marble Charity, modeled 1867, carved ca. 1871 Marble Hope, modeled 1866 Marble The father of the American school of Neoclassical sculptors, Hiram Powers presents the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Basing his designs on ancient imperial portrait busts, he swathed the female personifications in simple Greco-Roman drapery. Their uniformly smooth facial features and dignified, calm expressions are typical of Powers’ “ideal heads.” Only the Christian attributes displayed in their hair distinguish them from one another: Faith wears a crown decorated with a cross, Charity radiates the flame of divine love, and Hope displays an anchor, a symbol of steadfastness. Gifts of James H. Ricau and Museum purchases 86.500, 86.502, 86.501, respectively Provenance[Flemming]; James H. Ricau, Piermont, N.Y., by 1967; Gift of James H. Ricau and Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, 1986. Exhibition History"The Ricau Collection," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., February 26 - April 23, 1989. Published ReferencesEdward Strahan, editor, _The Art Treasures of America_ 3 Vols. (Philadelphia, Pa., 1879-1882), 2:97, 3:91. Donald M. Reynolds, _Hiram Powers and His Ideal Sculpture_ (New York: Garland Pub., 1977), 1084. ISBN: 0824027205 Jan Seidler Ramirez, "Faith," in _American Figurative Sculpture in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston_, exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., 1986, 38-40. ISBN: 0878462724 Richard P. Wunder, _Hiram Powers: Vermont Sculptor, 1805-1873_ 2 Vols. (Newark: Univ. of Delaware Press, 1989-1991), 2:144-146. ISBN: 0874133025, 0874133106 H. Nichols B. Clark, _A Marble Quarry: The James H. Ricau Collection of Sculpture at The Chrysler Museum of Art_ (New York: Hudson Hills Press, Inc., 1997), 86-88, no. 14. ISBN: 1555951317 Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 84-85, no. 47. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6
