As I established myself in the studio Charlotte had located for me, I thought back to the time I’d spent in Florence before I arrived in Rome. As soon as I was installed in a hotel there, I sent a message along with Edward Brackett’s letter of introduction to the foremost American sculptor in the city. Hiram Powers’s quick response encouraged me to call on him.            

          The streets of Florence were as winding as those in Boston and filled with distractions.  Every street led to a piazza, and every piazza held a statue that made Benjamin Franklin look stiff and cold by comparison. These statues were modeled in greater detail than the American ones I had seen and...

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