336 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



lent proportions and sweet surfaces fully account for its becoming a 

 public fiivorite. The subject enlisted the sympathy of the spectator, 

 and it won the applause of the most opposite characters. Exhibited 

 throughout the United States, and afterwards at the Great Exhibition 

 in England, it carried the fame of its author far and wide, besides plac- 

 ing him in a better position as regards money matters. 



Other works followed in uninterrupted if not rapid succession. The 

 Fisher Boy, America, California, a statue of Calhoun and one of Daniel 

 Webster, together with numerous busts, attest his industry. 



Powers's mechanical ingenuity was very useful in the production of 

 new tools and rasps for the finish of models and marbles. Indeed, he 

 invented such an excellent perforated rasp for plaster, that, fascinated 

 by its adaptability, he worked out all his later statues in that material, 

 saying that by so doing he saved not only the tedium of covering and 

 uncovering the clay models, but the expense of casting. His example, 

 however, has not been followed, as the loss of time in fashioning so irre- 

 sponsive a material as plaster makes it a poor exchange for clay, which 

 is docile, and quick to receive a thought. It is worthy of remark that 

 in bust-making Powers retained the use of clay. Among the works 

 which have the most added to Powers's reputation is his bust of Proser- 

 pine. The name of course has no significance, except as indicating the 

 character of maiden loveliness that he wished to portray ; but in it he has 

 succeeded in imbuing the Greek type with a feminine sweetness, rare 

 in the classic marbles. This work, often repeated, with its rich acces- 

 sory of acanthus-leaves, is perha2:)s the most ideal creation of the 

 artist. 



The character of Mr. Powers's life-lonw friends is an index to his 

 owii. Living in a city not renowned for its moral tone, and pursuing 

 an art in which various temptations, personal and material, are apt to 

 assail, we are not aware that a shadow of suspicion ever attached itself 

 to his purity. He was a thoroughly honest man. It is rarely given 

 to men of eminence to be without enemies, and Powers's disposition 

 was not one that could easily brook affront. How much his " Indian 

 blood " may be responsible for some of the skirmishes in which from 

 time to time he was engaged, we will leave for the physiologist to 

 decide. It is pleasant to believe that his last days were serene and 

 tranquil. Surrounded by a loving family, cheered by the wife of his 

 youth, and ministered to by all that the affection of friends could sup- 

 ply, he passed away at Florence on Friday, 27th June, 1873. 



