Edmonia Lewis, Scupltor
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Beth E Peterson
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 Edmonia Lewis is a romantic figure in the history of art. Her birth, early childhood and her later years are shrouded in mystery; her work has a strength of a sort that is unexpected for an sculptor whose artistic working life spanned less than 20 years.  Edmonia's birth year is generally considered to be either 1843, 1844 or 1845, but there is apparently no official record of her birth. She is believed to have been born on July 14th, near the town of Greenbush in Hudson County, New York. Her father was an African-American and her mother a Chippewa. When she was only three years of age, Edmonia was orphaned; her mother's tribe, located near Albany, NY, raised the young girl. Edmonia's talents in the arts became evident to the world at large in 1859 when she entered Oberlin College in Ohio. While at Oberlin, she was noted for her drawings; she later moved to Boston and studied sculpture under Edward Brackett. In her early 20's, in 1867, she left the US for Rome in order to continue her work in sculpture. Her work, done in marble, expressed a deep awareness, pain and concern regarding sexual and racial prejudices, as well as the concepts of conflict and oppression.  Nearly her entire short career as an artist was spent in Rome. Her most noted works were "Xenobia in Chains", "Hagar", and "The Death of Cleopatra", which was created for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. "Cleopatra" caused a bit of a sensation at this exhibition; the sculpture portrayed death realistically, not through stylized metaphor. After the exhibition, this two-ton marble was somehow misplaced, only to be found again in the late 1970's.  Soon after the 1876 Exposition, Edmonia dropped out of sight. There are those who speculate that she returned to her mother's tribe, but nothing is known for certain. Records of her life vanish completely after 1890, although she is thought to have died in 1911. A life so full of mysteries; a body of work with power and passion. Edmonia Lewis is indeed one of the most interesting figures of 19th century art. |