Edmonia Lewis (1845?-1911?) was the first Black female sculptor to gain fame and recognition.
Born Mary Edmonia Lewis on July 14, 1845, to a black father and part American Indian, Lewis was raised as a Mississauga Indian with the culture and values of the Chippewa Nation after her parents died when she was around ten. She and her brother were known as Wildfire and Sunrise, respectively.
Her brother financed her prep school education with wealth from the California Gold Rush, and also an education at Oberlin College beginning in 1859. While there, she excelled at drawing. When a teacher at Oberlin lost some paintbrushes, Lewis was accused of the theft. She was also accused of attempted murder when two girls fell ill after drinking mulled wine, which Lewis allegedly served them. Although acquitted of both charges, she was not permitted to graduate.
The following year, in 1863, she moved to Boston where abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison introduced her to her first mentor, sculptor Edward Brackett. Her earliest work included a bust of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, depicted as he led the all-black battalion, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. With the successful sale of her copies of the bust, Lewis sought to help raise funds for the underpaid black Union Soldiers and was able to move to Rome in 1865 to continue her study and practice of sculpting.
During her time in Rome, Lewis mastered her practice and specialized in portrait busts. She set up her own studio there and became a very well-known sculptor during this time. Some have speculated that what contributed to Lewis’s success in Rome may have been her exotic appearance. People were intrigued and fascinated with her East Indian resemblance and wanted to know more about her.
Rome was where she spent most of her adult career sculpting but eventually came back to the United States. Her time in Rome is what also attributed to her neoclassical techniques and subject matter. Her surroundings of the classical world greatly inspired and influenced both Lewis and her work. Lewis recreated the classical art in her own work. Many of her depictions of people in her sculptures are draped in clothing rather than simply wearing regular clothing.
Concerned with racist assumptions that she wasn’t really responsible for her work, Lewis worked alone and did not become an active part of the artistic community that drew buyers to Rome. Among her patrons in America was abolitionist and activist Lydia Maria Child.
After two years of working in Rome, Lewis completed Forever Free (1867), one of her most notorious and influential work. This was a representation of a free black couple in broken chains following the Civil War, one of the many pieces Lewis created that had a political statement attached to it.
Another high point of Lewis’s career was the completion of The Death of Cleopatra (1876), which created a sensation at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition that same year. Other sculptors generally depicted Cleopatra contemplating death. Lewis, on the other hand, showed Cleopatra seated upon her throne after death, her head thrown back.
Lewis’s last known exhibition was in the United States Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 and Chicago in 1878. No record of her death was ever recorded, and different sources report various dates from 1890 to 1911. Some disagreement regarding her birth year also exists: sources report anywhere from 1840 to 1845.
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Concrete Loop features ‘Black History Spotlights’ each week honoring black people who have played pivotal roles in history. submissions are welcome.
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WOW!! Very interesting indeed.
How interesting, and what a beautiful woman. It is amazing how diverse african-americans are, yet we don’t claim all of our ancestory. I am reading a book now called “Black Indians”, and it is amazing. Keep up the good work concreteloop, I am really liking these stories.
Thanks CL for all the wonderful work you do. It’s time our people learned to be proud and united. Your features on amazing artists, activists and intellectuals can only help. Please keep them coming!
Thanks so much for this post!!! I’d never heard of her before.
Thanks so much for this post!!! I’d never heard of her before.
WOW! what a talented sister! Thanks CL I never heard of her all my years in school when we study black history for one month!
Thanks for once again educating us on our history!
I love hearing about other blacks that had a hand in history… Its so insightful! This is a great post! Keep up the good work Concrete Loop! =)
Im impressed with the opportunities she had in that time of age. I know it didnt come easy, but she was blessed to be able to learn, do, and travel the way she did.
very interesting indeed!
“Some praise me because I am a colored girl, and I don’t want that kind of praise. I had rather you would point out my defects, for that will teach me something.”
– Edmonia Lewis to Lydia Maria Child
@11- Beautiful addition.
GREAT WORK CONCRETE LOOP!
That was interestng. i wonder y she stopped? i wonder what happened to her?
I love these post
THANKS CL!!! I love these Black History Spotlights it makes me proud to be an African-American person. We as a people are so diverse and we don’t really celebrate that fact. Keep it up! 365 days of Black History!
very encouraging and empowering information of our people.
U know how some stories aren’t as intriguing? Well, this one certainly was. i found myself wikipedia (ing) names related and found a book that I started reading on today called “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” written by Harriet an Jacobs, under the name Linda Brent. She’s connected to Lynda Maria Child, who helped edit the book, who also befriended Edmonia Lewis. So far, a Great read
Thanks for my daily briefing CL!!
Thank U CL. I love reading about our people and their great accomplishments. This will surely go in my other history collection.
Thanks for this amazing post. I love learning about our history. When I get my non-profit up and running I will make sure to incorporate Black History stories about people that we never learned about in school. Thanks for the inspiration!!!
Interesting story!
Sounds like one crazy but talented broad, what is it with the talented people always being a lil off? Must be from the Native American side. ..joke.. for all yall blackfoot machete raft water crossing children
To numbers 2 and 17, I have read both books and they are a mind expanding experience.
To CL, thank you so much, I find myself looking forward to the historical spotlight, also thank you for covering the political scene.
Have a great day, all of you.
Thank you! Very interesting!
It just proves what we have known all along, black people are natural gifted, beautiful individuals who are hardly ever really recgonized for their genius during their life time!!!
@ 2
I think we forget how diverse we are as a people because as long as you look black you are black full stop, and for some reason if you acknowledge any other aspects of your heritage, you are accused of frontin’ or trying to deny who you are, which is not the cause you are a mix of all sorts of things and people, unless you are straight from the motherland, we are all mixed up with something..
Thank you for sharing our diverse history Angel.
#17: I read that for my Women of the American South class. It’s definitely a great book. Like Compton Cutie said, it is a mind-expanding experience.
THIS IS WHY I LOVE CONCRETELOOP!!! THANX SO MUCH FOR THIS ONE
2. SHANPATRICE
“ It is amazing how diverse african-americans are, yet we don’t claim all of our ancestory.”
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It is amazing. But I can suggest you say “many” instead of “we” because I am one of several that do claim my ancestry. And when you say “we” it gives the assumption that all black people do not claim their diverse heritage. If the truth were told all black folks who are descendents of slaves are mixed with something, LOL.
Those like myself who claim all our ethnic backgrounds are extremely proud of the diversity…however choose not to get in detail about them because of the constant hostile response from our kind. And if we don’t speak about it we then have individuals who question or doubt us for not “claiming all of our ancestry.”
I have descendents of both Cherokee & Black Foot Indians in my family. And I am very secure in my heritage. However I have had many bias comments from my own people regarding my ancestry. If you ask me it is a double standard. We get ridiculed for claiming our background and accuse of being ashamed if we don’t…it’s a loose regardless.
But I love biographies of people like Edmonia Lewis. It’s great information because little is known about Black Indians. Kudos CL!
Excellent post, as a black woman it makes me so proud to see gifted black women,during that time in history, fighting and beating the odds.Black women we are so much more than our asses,hips,thighs,sure it’s nice,but i don’t think any of us are put here on this earth just to show off our assets.
Love this segmen of concreteloop!!! Great info
This is an excellent read. So this woman was never recognized by Oberlin College again? No honoray degree? What a shame…….
I almost forgot today was thursday, once again another interesting enlightening post. I love CL on thursdays!
I love this story and it can inspirational for us as a people:even with the loss of her parents, she persevered; she didn’t give up when falsely accused; abolistionist(white people)helped her, so all white folks are not demons.
Stay positive and take advantage of this short existence on earth.
This was really interesting!!
I love ConcreteLoop
WOW! Thanx so much for this Concreteloop you guys actually took my advice, I greatly appericate this not only because she’ll a black indian, but she reminds of myself, cause am a artist too!
Her work is beautiful looking at these pictures. Which am bout to go google though. Oh yea before I go #11 dido #12.
Thanks ConcreteLoop, that was awesom, inspiring and very well written. Great Job!
Wow! This is really a great post and now i am going to find more out about her. This is great CL. I’m curious too about what happened to her and why the college never recognized her? That is a bad a$$ sculpture of Cleopatra. Thanks again CL.
Wow who know? What an amazing woman especially of that era!! Thanx CL
Love the quote # 11
now THAT was very interesting. thanks for the art history lesson. this is a great site!
I’m glad Def jam decided to make “Luv” Janet’s third single. I just hope the video for this song isn’t as bad as rockwitchu that video liked as if everyone was high
Good Post
Use guys should post about Alan Allensworth and Mary Pleasant they have interesting stories as well.
I love your Black History segments. Keep them coming. I would love to submit some.
This was great, so was the Loving story. Please keep them coming!!!
This lady was very talented and thanks CL for the post.
great post
learned something new today yayyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! going to school all these years and the only people I can hear of is malcolm x, harriet tubman, and mlk smh at public school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow…why don’t we ever hear about these people. Thanks for that concreteloop. Please don’t ever stop these posts.
Thanks for the info. There is typo in the dates. one says she was born in 1865. love the black history posts keep them coming!
cl you have really stepped it up.
Interesting post…I like reading stories like this that you never/hardly hear about…Edmonia was a very talented individual and it was nice that she got the opportunity to travel abroad to study.
I remember reading about her from this African American history book my parents bought me when I was in like 3rd grade.
Thanks CL
Wow, this was so interesting! Thanks Kendra!!
hmmmmm
the more i read these
i feel more proud of being who i am
thanx CL
=]
I love these history bites. Very interesting. Don’t stop.
Good lookin CL, we need to keep the information and history of our people in circulation so that we leave a legacy behind
well i may not be black but I am totally interested in educating myself on the true history of the world and i really appreciate that this site is not just for shits & giggles……… what an interesting way to teach the masses who spend way too much time absorbing nonsense all day, i am definitely bookmarking this one……. keep up the good work, excellent idea
YES! A Black Female sculptor, very rare I’d say. Once again, I applaud you Concreteloop for spotlighting Black people who we have, unfortunately, never heard of.
Thanks for a wonderful article. This was another nice one, J. Dakar!
without our ancestors,there is no history.everyday a taleneted african american is revealed, having been lost in the cracks of time ….we our history, there is none without us!