THE NEW-YORK EXHIBITION ILLUSTRATED.

The genius of Hiram Powers is represented in the New-York Exhibition by fourof his works—The Fisher Boy and bust of Proserpine already engraved, and Eveand the Greek Slave which adorn this page of the Record. The latter is still theproperty of the sculptor; the Eve was placed in the Crystal Palace by the courtesyof Col. John L. Preston, of Columbus, South Carolina, and until now has never beenexhibited to the public.

So many of the works of Powers were never before assembled except in his ownstudio; ana in respect to sculpture generally, the collection is one of unexampledrichness and extent in this country. That it has had, and will continue to have itsappropriate influence in forming and directing the public taste cannot be doubted.For obvious reasons Americans have enjoyed very few opportunities of seeing sculp-tures of real merit. Probably, Italian image boys are the only missionaries of art

The Eve, like the Greek Slave, is a reproduction of the antique.. Connoisseurs, whosejudgment we respect, say that “our sculptor’s great power resides in his imitativefaculty, and the patient skill with which he manipulates the surface of the marble.No modern artist has succeeded so perfectly in giving to his statues the peculiarand indescribable look of flesh, equally removed from the roughness of stone and theglossy polish of porcelain. His elastic muscle seems as if it would yield , to thetouch.” The marble has that delicate softness, which after all, is the peculiar andmost imperishable charm of the most beautiful woman. The imagination or creative

who have found their way to the majority. To thousands, then, of his countrymenthese works of Powers have been a revelation of beauty, not less instructive thandelightful. We may be sure that after this practical acquaintance with art, they willhave clearer notions of its capabilities, and appreciate better the skill, enthusiasm,and genius of the artist.

The Greek Slave has been frequently described, and we need not repeat here thefamiliar story which she is designed to represent. It was this statue that first intro-duced the name and merits of Powers to the English public, and it h as probably con-tributed most to his popular fame.

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faculty in Powers is far inferior to his manipulative skill. While this is perfect, hisinvention is only mediocre. The deficiency is apparent in each of the four works ex-hibited, but is most striking in the Eve. The face has no meaning. The body, thelimbs are the perfection of physical beauty, but the beautiful soul that should animateso much loveliness is wanting. She is not the mythological Eve. She is not the“ fairest of her daughters ” whom Milton sung. .But failing in imaginative works,Powers surpasses all other sculptors in reproducing nature. His portrait busts areperfect—the features and the character are given by him with all the fidelity of life.