The Greek Slave

The Greek Slave
The Greek Slave
	At Yale University Art Gallery
Artist	Hiram Powers
Year	model completed 1843; marbles 1844–1860s
Type	marble sculpture
Dimensions	165.7 cm × 53.3 cm × 46.4 cm (65.2 in × 21.0 in × 18.3 in)
Weight	c. 236 kilograms (520 lb)
Location	Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. (1843 plaster model); Raby Castle, County Durham, England (1844); National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1846); Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey (1847); Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut (1850); Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York (1866);

The Greek Slave is a marble sculpture by the American sculptor Hiram Powers. It was one of the best-known and critically acclaimed American artworks of the nineteenth century,^[1] and is among the most popular American sculptures ever.^[2] It was the first publicly exhibited, life-size, American sculpture depicting a fully nude female figure. Powers originally modeled the work in clay, in Florence, Italy, completing it on March 12, 1843.^[3]^[4] The first marble version (prime version) of the sculpture was completed by Powers' studio in 1844 and is now in Raby Castle, England.^[2]

Five more full-sized versions of the statue in marble were mechanically reproduced for private patrons, based on Powers' original model, along with numerous smaller-scale versions. Copies of the statue were displayed in a number of venues around Great Britain and the United States; it quickly became one of Powers' most famous works, and held symbolic meaning for some American abolitionists, inspiring an outpouring of prose and poetry.^[5] The position of the figure is said to have been inspired by the Venus de' Medici in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.^[6]

^ "The Greek Slave". Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "The Greek Slave". The Corcoran. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
^ Cite error: The named reference SAAM-plaster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Taft, Lorado (1903). The History of American Sculpture. Harvard University: Macmillan. p. 61.
^ "The Greek Slave". American Paintings and Sculpture. Yale University Art Gallery. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
^ "Hiram Powers' 'The Greek Slave'". Assumption College. Retrieved November 20, 2006.

[nga-1] "The Greek Slave". Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. Retrieved July 6, 2015.

[corcoran-2] "The Greek Slave". The Corcoran. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

[SAAM-plaster-3] Cite error: The named reference SAAM-plaster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Taft, Lorado (1903). The History of American Sculpture. Harvard University: Macmillan. p. 61.

[Yale-5] "The Greek Slave". American Paintings and Sculpture. Yale University Art Gallery. Retrieved July 6, 2015.

[assumption-6] "Hiram Powers' 'The Greek Slave'". Assumption College. Retrieved November 20, 2006.

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