Artist
Edmonia Lewis
born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907
- Also known as
- Wildfire
- Mary Edmonia Lewis
- Born
- Greenbush, New York, United States
- Died
- London, England
- Active in
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Oberlin, Ohio, United States
- Rome, Italy
- Biography
- Edmonia Lewis was the first sculptor of African American and Native American (Mississauga) descent to achieve international recognition. Her father was Black, and her mother was Chippewa (Ojibwa) Indian. Orphaned at an early age, Lewis grew up in her mother's tribe where her life revolved around fishing, swimming, and making and selling crafts. In 1859 she attended Oberlin College in Ohio, one of the first schools to accept female and Black students. She developed an interest in the fine arts, but an accusation of poisoning, probably racially motivated, forced Lewis to leave the school before graduating. She traveled to Boston and established herself as a professional artist, studying with a local sculptor and creating portraits of famous antislavery heroes. Moving to Rome in 1865, she became involved with a group of American women sculptors and began to work in marble. Sculptors usually hired local workmen to carve their final pieces, but Lewis did all her own stonework out of fear that if she didn't, her work would not be accepted as original. In addition to creating portrait heads, Lewis sculpted biblical scenes and figural works dealing with her Native American heritage and the oppression of Black people.
Exhibitions
August 31, 2016–February 28, 2017
In celebration of the 2016 Grand Opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, SAAM will display 184 of its most important artworks by African Americans.
Related Posts
From the Collection03/31/2021
Celebrating Women’s History Month by illuminating the stories of women who challenged both what art could be and who could be an artist.
Allison Carey
Women Artists08/12/2021
SAAM Debuts Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Women Artists01/13/2022
Celebrating the renowned artist with a comic about her life and work
Howard Kaplan
Writer
From the Collection01/21/2022
Explore the life and work of this groundbreaking American sculptor
Amy Fox
Social Media and Digital Content Specialist