Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
A1939.3089.1 |
Title |
Bust of Daniel Low |
Artist |
Powers, Hiram (American, 1805-1873) |
Object Name |
Bust |
Description |
Daniel Low (1792-1876), a wealthy New York City merchant with extensive property and influence on Staten Island, lived there from 1835 until his death. His name was given to Daniel Low Terrace in St. George and his grandson, Daniel Low Bridgeman, donated this bust to the Staten Island Museum in 1939. Daniel Low had commissioned this bust during a family trip to Italy in 1869 from Hiram Powers and posed for a clay model so that the artist could complete the work after Mr. Low travelled home. Mrs. Evelina Tylden Low, Daniel Low's second wife, described it as "…a most excellent likeness." He was not just a typical businessman, he was an avid traveler, sailing up the Nile River in the 1830s with his daughter Sarah Ann and living in Paris in the 1820s, sharing an office with the Marquis de Lafayette. Daniel Low moved to Staten Island in 1835, and built several houses, the last of which was located on what today is Daniel Low Terrace. Hiram Powers was one of the most famous American sculptors of the nineteenth century. He is probably best known for The Greek Slave completed in 1847. This unclad figure of a young woman was considered to be rather scandalous in the United States, although her nudity was made acceptable for viewers by her enslavement. This was demonstrated that her unclad condition was beyond her control. Powers lived in Florence, working in the neo-classic style, and his portrait busts, of which this is a fine example, remain highly regarded. From Eye of the Beholder-2010 Hiram Powers' immaculate white marble bust of Daniel Low is a combination of mid-nineteenth century Neoclassicism and realism. Daniel Low is captured in the garb of a nineteenth century gentleman, with high collar, cravat, waistcoat and jacket. His features are carved with fidelity to his age and appearance. |
Year Range from |
1869 |
Year Range to |
1870 |
Collection |
Sculpture |
Dimensions |
H-26.25 inches |
Credit line |
Gift of Daniel Low Bridgeman | A1939.3089.1 |
Material |
Marble |
Relation |
Show Related Records... |
Search Terms |
Hiram Powers Daniel Low bust marble sculpture portrait |
Catalog type |
Art |
Source |
Daniel Low Bridgeman |
Web Rights |
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/ |