[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 209 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 209

 Recognizing and honoring Woodstock, Vermont, native Hiram Powers for 
  his extraordinary and enduring contributions to American sculpture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003

Mr. Jeffords (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Warner, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. 
  Dodd) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing and honoring Woodstock, Vermont, native Hiram Powers for 
  his extraordinary and enduring contributions to American sculpture.

Whereas Hiram Powers is one of the preeminent artists in American sculpture;
Whereas Hiram Powers, in the words of the director and curator of the Houston 
        Museum of Fine Arts, was the artist who ``put American sculpture on the 
        map,'' gaining international fame and providing unprecedented support 
        for the notion of the United States as a country capable of producing 
        artists equal to or better than their international counterparts;
Whereas Powers' 1844 sculpture ``Greek Slave'' became, in the words of Powers 
        biographer Richard Wunder, ``a telling symbol'' of freedom for Americans 
        in the pre-Civil War years and remains unequaled in popularity among 
        American sculptures;
Whereas Powers' bust of President Andrew Jackson is widely considered the finest 
        portrait ever sculpted of the president, as well as one of the noblest 
        examples of portraiture ever created by an American sculptor;
Whereas the Congress of the United States, in recognition of Powers' 
        extraordinary talents, awarded him commissions to execute the statues of 
        John Marshall, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson that stand today 
        in the United States Capitol;
Whereas Powers preserved through his sculpture the memory of numerous other 
        great Americans, including George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Daniel 
        Webster, John C. Calhoun, Martin Van Buren, and Henry Wadsworth 
        Longfellow;
Whereas Powers was born in 1805 in Woodstock, Vermont, and happily spent his 
        early years in that town;
Whereas throughout his life, Powers held sacred the memories of his childhood in 
        Woodstock and drew upon these memories as inspiration for his work, 
        saying, ``dreams often take me back to Woodstock and set me down upon 
        the green hills''; and
Whereas the citizens of Woodstock, Vermont, are preparing to celebrate the 
        bicentennial of Hiram Powers' birth with exhibits, symposiums, and other 
        commemorative activities: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and honors Woodstock, Vermont, 
native Hiram Powers for his extraordinary and enduring contributions to 
American sculpture.
                                 <all>