Contents
Edmonia Lewis
Building an international sculpting career in nineteenth-century Rome as a woman of African American and Indigenous ancestry.
Robert Gould Shaw · Forever Free
- Born
- c. 1844
- Birthplace
- New York, United States
- Died
- 17 September 1907
More people
Edmonia Lewis
Edmonia Lewis was an American sculptor known for marble works on emancipation, Indigenous subjects and classical history. She established her career in Rome despite severe racial and gender barriers.
Early life
An uncertain early record
Born in New York; accounts of her birth year and childhood differ.
Oberlin studies
Studied at Oberlin, where accusations and a violent attack disrupted her education; she left without graduating.
Career
- 1860s
Training in Boston
Learned sculpture and found support among abolitionist patrons.
- 1865–1866
Moving to Rome
Established herself in Rome, where marble and sculptural workshops were readily available.
- 1867
Emancipation in marble
Created Forever Free, addressing the end of slavery in the United States.
- 1876
Centennial exhibition
Exhibited The Death of Cleopatra in Philadelphia.
Selected work
Robert Gould Shaw
A portrait bust of the Union officer helped finance her European journey.
Forever Free
A formerly enslaved man and woman appear with broken chains.
Hagar
A biblical figure presented in marble.
The Death of Cleopatra
The Egyptian ruler shown after her suicide, seated on her throne.
Beyond the studio
Independent carving
Often carved marble herself rather than relying entirely on workshop assistants.
Later years
Spent her final years in London, where she died in 1907.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Museum or specialist research ↗Photo: Henry Rocher / Adam Cuerden. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
