Acquired in New Orleans by the Western Art Union, 1849

James Robb sold his Greek Slave for $3,500 to the Western Art Union, a Cincinnati-based membership organization founded in 1847 with the aim of promoting art among a wider public. (See Martina Droth’s essay.) For an annual membership fee of $5, subscribers were entitled to an engraving, free admission to the Union’s gallery, and a chance to win a major work of art—such as The Greek Slave—in a lottery prize-draw. The Union’s acquisition of The Greek Slave was a publicity coup, especially at a local level, since Hiram Powers had begun his career in Cincinnati.