To celebrate Black History Month, local history, and art – on this #throwbackthursday – lets dive into Edmonia Lewis.
Edmonia, born in 1844, in Rennselaer County, NY, was the first professional sculptor of African American and Native American descent to achieve international recognition. Her parents both died when Edmonia was very young, which created a path for her that may not have existed if they had lived. Her half-brother moved west at this time and was able to send money back for Edmonia to go to Oberlin College. This was incredibly rare. Being a woman AND a minority in 1859, was a struggle.
While attending Oberlin, Edmonia was faced with constant discrimination. From peers, from faculty and staff, and at one point was accused not just of theft but of poisoning her classmates. After a trial, she was found not guilty, but was asked to leave the institute. To get the full story, on this crazy situation, check out her wikipedia page.
Again, with the assistance of her half-brother, she moved to Boston. In Boston, she was finally able to settle in and become the artist she was intended to be. She met several abolitionists who helped her, and supported her work. One of those supporters was William Lloyd Garrison, who introduced her to sculptors that would go on to mentor and train her.
In 1864, Edmonia opened her studio for her first solo exhibition. This was also the first year she received financial success on her own. She created a bust of Civil War Colonel, Robert Shaw (a white officer who commanded an infantry of all African-American soldiers). Following the success of this, she moved to Europe.
A copy of Colonel Robert Shaw
After visiting multiple European cities, and meeting fellow sculptures and artists, she settled in Rome, Italy.
In 1876, she created her most famous piece. The Death of Cleopatra, carved of marble, is world renowned. The piece, first presented at the 1886 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, was show stopping. And, holy moly, if you are a reader of this blog – remember when we wrote about Sarah Freeborn, sculpture of our St. Agnes statue? They were both there the same time! Two strong artistic creative women from the same place, presenting. We’d love to believe they met, were friends, and even talked some about Albany, Rensselaer, and their history and art.
Death of Cleopatra
The story of the statue is a wild one. One worth a documentary, that’s for sure. Follow its wild partial journey here.
She lived a life full of adventure – traveling worldwide to create and present her work. While her journey often presented trials and tribulations due to her sex and race, she was able to use these moments as opportunities to learn more of herself and her environment.
“Some praise me because I am a colored girl, and I don’t want that kind of praise,” she said. “I had rather you would point out my defects, for that will teach me something.”
While it isn’t known where exactly, or how exactly, Edmonia passed, her legacy continues. She is recognized in documentaries, in art history books, on Google Doodle, and most recently, on the U.S. stamp. We celebrate Edmonia Lewis for many reasons and will continue to look upon her journey, and art, in awe, gratitude, and curiosity.
For a fun quick video of Edmonia Lewis check out this link presented by WMHT: https://www.wmht.org/blogs/she-inspires/edmonia-lewis-she-inspires/
