Hiram Powers
American, 1805 ‑ 1873
Charity, modeled 1867, carved 1871
Marble
28 1/4 × 20 9/16 × 12 3/4 in. (71.8 × 52.2 × 32.4 cm.)
Gift of Mrs. Hattie Bishop Speed
Conservation funded by The Alliance of The Speed Art Museum, 1999  
1928.50

A Gift for a New Museum
Hiram Powers designed Charity to be the center of a trio of busts depicting the three Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity. These Heavenly Graces, as they are known, derive from the New Testament verse of 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Fittingly, this sculpture is the very first work of art to be donated to the Speed Art Museum.