Icarus is one of Power’s rare purely mythological works — a departure from his predominant focus on portraiture and religious sculpture. Carved in marble in 1936 and now held in the National Gallery of Ireland, the work takes its subject from the Greek myth of Daedalus’s son who flew too close to the sun on wings of wax and feathers.
The choice of Irish stone — Power was a consistent advocate for native materials — combined with a classical subject reflects his ability to move between the traditional idioms of European academic sculpture and the Irish cultural nationalism that shaped most of his public commissions. The work demonstrates his skill as a direct carver in marble at a period when much sculpture was still cast from modelled originals.