This new exhibition highlights the small-scale, three-dimensional works of acclaimed sculptors including celebrated works by Hiram Powers, Thomas Ball, Chauncey B. Ives and John Rogers. Sculpture was remarkably popular during the period surrounding the American Civil War. Audiences flocked to exhibitions to see the latest works by favorite artists, many of whom established successful studios abroad during the Antebellum period. Sensing new demand for their art, many of these sculptors began making works for domestic spaces as well as the public sphere. To tell this story, Modeling for the Masses draws upon examples from the Timken’s permanent collection as well as significant loans from prominent public and private collections. Period photographs will show how works were often broadly disseminated, and both stereoviews and “cartes de visite” images represent another dimension of the exhibition. Together, this presentation of two- and three-dimensional imagery signals how contemporary notions about media might be traced back to this earlier period. This is also reflected in the works by American artist Kehinde Wiley. Wiley is best known for his portraits that place young black men and women shown in traditional poses of Old Master paintings. Several works in this exhibition trace how Wiley’s sculpture engages current debates while deliberately referencing art ideals of the past.