Lewis during her years as a respected artist
Edmonia Lewis, an African-Haitian-Native American sculptor, was born in New York State around July 4 (an auspicious date!), 1844.
Her mother was a weaver and her father a servant, but Lewis was drawn to sculpting. She studied at an abolitionist school for three years, but was shown the door for being too “wild.” Going forward, her nickname was Wildfire.
At the age of approximately 15, Lewis attended Oberlin College, making her one of the first black women to study at a U.S. university. There, she was accused of poisoning two classmates who fell ill, and while she was eventually acquitted and no evidence was ever produced that she intentionally poisoned anyway, she was beaten and left for dead by citizens of Oberlin.
It didn't help that Lewis dressed androgynously and had no male suitors; she never married. (Thoughts on her probable lesbianism here.)
After that adversity, Lewis moved to Boston to sculpt, opening her first studio in 1864. Her skill as an artist made her the first internationally renowned black sculptor, and the first Native American to achieve acclaim in the field, too. She was commissioned by President Ulysses S. Grant to do his portrait, as well as winning commissions to capture the likenesses of many esteemed figures.
She moved to Rome, where she spent most of her life, creating such famous works as Forever Free, which shows a black man and woman emerging from slavery, and the 3,000-pound marble sculpture The Death of Cleopatra (pictured).
Moving to England, she died there on September 17, 1907.
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