Bust of John Adams by Hiram Powers

No, Powers never met Adams in person. Powers was born in 1805 and Adams died on July 4, 1826, when Powers was a young man. Powers created the bust from life portraits of the late president, working from his studio in Florence, Italy.

Powers is best known for The Greek Slave (1844), a full-length marble statue of a chained nude woman that became one of the most famous American sculptures of the 19th century. The work toured the United States to enormous public attention and was reproduced in miniature form.

Powers carved the bust at his studio in Florence, Italy, where he settled in 1837 and spent the rest of his career. Florence was a major center for marble sculpture in the 19th century due to its proximity to Carrara marble quarries and its tradition of sculptural training.

Yes, Powers was one of the foremost American Neoclassical sculptors, part of a group of 19th-century American artists who worked in Italian marble. Along with sculptors like Horatio Greenough, Powers helped establish an American tradition of marble sculpture modeled on classical Greek and Roman precedents.