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Sculpture

The Fisher Boy

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Type
Sculpture(Opens in new tab)
Date
ca. 1850
Accession number
2001.26
Maker
Hiram Powers(Opens in new tab) (American, 1805–1873)
Dimensions
height: 22 × 17 × 11 in. (55.9 × 43.2 × 27.9 cm.) mount: 48 × 14 × 14 in. (121.9 × 35.6 × 35.6 cm.)
Medium
marble
Description
The Fisher Boy, in its original conception as a full-length statue, is unique among Powers' work, since it constitutes the only male nude he ever sculpted. The subject, a modern allegory on the innocence of youth, was popular in nineteenth-century sculpture and fit well with Powers' desire to render ideal themes pertinent to his own time. As was often his practice with other ideal works, Powers probably planned from the beginning to replicate his conception of The Fisher Boy both in full-length and bust-length versions. Ever the businessman, Powers realized that many potential patrons lacked the money or space for the larger full-length works. For them, he offered his ideal compositions in a more convenient and less expensive bust-length size, such as the version of The Fisher Boy on view here. In adapting The Fisher Boy from a full-length statue to a bust, Powers eliminated the attributes defining the character of the figure-the upraised hand holding a conch shell to the left ear, and the down-turned hand resting on the net and tiller. He rendered the boy's upper torso in two versions, one with full shoulders and upper arms, such as the one displayed here, and the other, a less expensive variant, with truncated shoulders. Devoid of specific attributes, the bust version of The Fisher Boy speaks more generally to the vulnerability and innocence of youth.
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation
Department
American Art
Find out more
View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)
Born in Cincinnati but based in Florence, Italy, for much of his career, the sculptor Hirman Powers became one of the most celebrated American artists of his time. Like Powers himself, who came from humble, frontier origins, The Fisher Boy transforms a popular nineteenth-century stock character--the crass, peasant youth--into what the artist called "some kind of Apollino," referring to Greek depictions of Apollo as the epitome of male youth. In adapting this smaller bust from his full-length statue, Powers eliminated the defining attributes of the original: the boy's hand holding a conch shell to his left ear and his down-turned hand resting on a net and tiller. Yet, even in its truncated form--less expensive and more convenient for middle-class customers--this sculpture offers a thoughtful meditation on the innocence of youth and on upward mobility, popular themes in nineteenth-century American art.

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