Chiseling her Way to a Legacy
Edmonia Lewis
Sculpting has long been standing as a bastion of male dominance. The art world, steeped in patriarchal structures, relegated women to the sidelines, denying them opportunities for recognition and advancement. Despite possessing talent and creativity equal to their male counterparts, female sculptors faced formidable barriers to entry, their voices silenced and their contributions diminished. In the annals of art history, Edmonia Lewis stands as a trailblazing figure—a pioneering African American sculptor who defied the odds to leave an indelible mark on the world of art.
Born in 1844 in Greenbush, New York, Lewis overcame the formidable barriers of race and gender to achieve renown as one of the foremost sculptors of her time.Her father, employed as a gentleman's servant, hailed from the West Indies, residing as a free person of color in the United States. Her mother, of Chippewa descent, possessed artistic talent and crafted moccasins and assorted trinkets for sale to tourists. Lewis attributed her aspiration to become an artist partly to her mother's influence. Left orphaned at the tender age of five, Lewis was taken in by her aunts, residing near Niagara Falls, New York. Despite her early hardship, she received a comprehensive education, largely funded and facilitated by her older half-brother, Samuel, who had achieved financial prosperity. At the age of 15, Lewis enrolled at Oberlin College, becoming one of the first African American women to attend a higher education institution in the United States. It was during her time at Oberlin that she honed her skills as a sculptor, studying under the renowned artist Edward A. Brackett.
Established in 1833, Oberlin College stood as an early advocate of coeducation, abolitionism, and integration. Despite boarding with John Keep, a white abolitionist and school trustee, Lewis’ time at Oberlin was not a memorable one as she encountered racial attacks that belied Oberlin's progressive mission statement. While she was a student, Lewis faced allegations of attempting to poison her classmate and roommate. Despite being acquitted in a trial, she endured ongoing abuse, which reached its peak when, in the winter of 1862, a mob of white men abducted, assaulted, and abandoned her in a field, citing the poisoning accusation. Though she survived the ordeal, Lewis was later accused of stealing art supplies from the school. Subsequently, she departed Oberlin before completing her studies, with uncertainty surrounding whether she was expelled or left voluntarily.
After leaving Oberlin, Lewis embarked on a journey eastward, reaching Boston in 1864 to embark on a career as a sculptor. In an arena predominantly occupied by white men, she faced repeated rejection from instructors until encountering Edward A. Brackett, a sculptor whose clientele included prominent abolitionist advocates. Lewis made a name for herself in Boston with numerous works honoring abolitionists and Civil War heroes. Despite minimal training, she began crafting portrait medallions of renowned abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, and Wendell Phillips. She also sculpted the busts of John Brown and Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Her work gained recognition in abolitionist publications, leading to financial success and enabling her first trip to Europe in 1865, where she found greater opportunities to pursue her artistic ambitions.
In Rome, she immersed herself in the vibrant artistic community, drawing inspiration from the rich cultural heritage of the ancient world. It was here that she created some of her most iconic works, including "The Death of Cleopatra" and "Forever Free," which garnered international acclaim for their beauty and craftsmanship. Her work bears significant cultural importance as it reflects the intersection of various descriptors that define her: "American," "woman," "sculptor," "African American," and "Native American." While her sculptures depict African American and Native American women, their features adhere to idealized Western European standards, drawing from her autobiography.
Numerous scholars have noted that the women depicted by Lewis lack distinct African or Native American features. Their long, straight hair, European-like features, and white marble skin contrast with their intended subject matter. However, the matter of ethnicity remains either unaddressed or interpreted as a paradox, often leading to criticisms suggesting Lewis's purported indifference towards her own heritage. In an 1878 interview with the New York Times where she expressed being "essentially forced" to relocate to Rome for opportunities in art to escape a social environment that incessantly reminded her of her race. She lamented that the supposed land of liberty offered no space for a sculptor of color. Her words seem to perpetuate a longing to be seen as a sculptor of value and merit, beyond her heritage, which could be a reason behind the sculptures’ appearance. It was not as if she was free from prejudices in Europe, Henry James's observation, likely representative of the era, suggested that her “colour, picturesquely contrasting with that of her plastic material [white marble], was the pleading agent of her fame”.
Death of Cleopatra
One of Lewis's most celebrated works, "The Death of Cleopatra," is a masterpiece of neoclassical sculpture that exemplifies her artistic vision and technical prowess. Depicting the Egyptian queen in the throes of death, the sculpture captures the tragedy and grandeur of Cleopatra's final moments with exquisite detail and emotion, it was not merely a grandiose sculpture of a regal queen. Lewis's ability to convey complex emotions through the medium of stone is a testament to her skill as a sculptor and her deep understanding of human nature. It took Lewis four years to complete the sculpture, capturing the final moments of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra's life, which weighed 3,000 pounds. In 1876, she transported the sculpture across the Atlantic to Philadelphia for consideration in the Centennial Exhibition. The committee opted to exhibit it in the hall designated for American artists. Despite its realism, the sculpture stirred controversy due to Cleopatra being depicted topless, a detail deemed inappropriate by many male critics. However, many of her male peers were also displaying female sculptures in the nude form around the same time, most notably, Hiram Powers, with his famous work “The Greek Slave” and “Proserpine”.
Many of Lewis's other sculptures directly challenged the institutions of slavery. At the outset of her career, she crafted a series of notable portraits portraying leading abolitionists, several of whom provided crucial support amidst the setbacks of Oberlin and her relocation to Italy. In "Forever Free," a marble group now housed at Howard University, she immortalized the moment of emancipation with a depiction of a man and a woman gazing towards heaven, their broken shackles lying at their feet. What set "Forever Free" apart from other sculptures portraying emancipation was the stance of the male figure. Instead of the typical depiction of a man kneeling with a bent back, Lewis's figure stands upright and defiant, devoid of any implied presence of powerful figures granting freedom. Instead, the couple in Lewis's sculpture seems to express gratitude solely to God. Moreover, this is one of the first examples of sculpture showing a family unit being emancipated instead of being represented as a singular male figure.
It's crucial to recognize that "Forever Free" wasn't Lewis's sole portrayal of family dynamics. Like her depictions inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” it underscores the significance of heterosexual relationships between individuals of the same race. At the time, most biracial children born were a result of the men in power forcing themselves upon women of color. It reinforced the idea perpetuated by abolitionists of the time, that the parents of a child should be of the same race, and it was meant to liberate the enslaved women who would be used for breeding purposes to increase the number of slaves.
However, alongside these powerful works, Lewis also produced some less impactful pieces, including copies of ancient statues and what could be termed "genre scenes." For instance, she sculpted a sentimentally-rendered marble figure titled "Poor Cupid," trapped while attempting to pluck a rose, as well as slightly over-sexualized depictions of slumbering toddlers titled "Asleep," alongside another duo called "Awake." Although these works garnered popularity— with "Asleep" even receiving an award—it is widely assumed that Lewis created most of them to cater to tourists and visitors to her Roman studio, as they were the pieces that ensured a steady income to cover her rent. She was a working woman in her day, after all.
In addition to her artistic achievements, Lewis's life was marked by a commitment to social justice and activism. At a time when the struggle for civil rights was still in its infancy, she used her platform as an artist to advocate for racial equality and empowerment. Lydia Maria Child had advised Lewis against pursuing further "ideal works," including creating a sculpture based on the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite Child's reservations about the subject, Lewis persisted and completed the sculpture. Defying her patron's desire for “Forever Free” to remain hidden away from the world in her European studio, Lewis arranged for its shipment to Boston. There, it was publicly advertised and exhibited at the A.A. Childs Gallery. Through her art, Lewis sought to challenge the prevailing stereotypes and misconceptions about African Americans, presenting them in a dignified and heroic light. She did not shy away from the truth simply because her patrons’ feathers would be ruffled.
Little is known about the later years of Lewis's life. She retreated from the public eye in the 1880s, and details regarding her marital status or whether she had children remain unclear. It was only recently that Lewis's biographer, Marilyn Richardson, uncovered information indicating that Lewis passed away in London on September 17, 1907, from Bright's Disease.
Lewis's artworks are now prominently featured in some of America's most renowned museums, including the Howard University Gallery of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Remarkably, more than a century following its initial exhibition at the Centennial, Lewis's "Death of Cleopatra" was discovered covered in graffiti and paint in Forest Park, a suburb of Chicago. Donated to the Smithsonian in the early 1990s, it now greets visitors in the museum's third-floor galleries. Furthermore, Lewis's enduring legacy received additional recognition through initiatives such as her depiction on a U.S. Postal Service stamp in 2022 and the awarding of a "posthumous diploma of the Ladies’ Course" by Oberlin College in the same year.
There seems to be a recurring pattern here, most women of calibre being recognized years after their death, when they are no longer there to feel the sense of pride and accomplishment that their work brought to them. It would not be amiss to say that this trend, though less in modern times, tends to continue.
Edmonia Lewis's life and work serve as a shining example of courage, determination, and artistic excellence. Through her groundbreaking sculptures, she broke down barriers of race and gender, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate to this day. As we celebrate her achievements, let us also honor her memory by continuing to strive for a more inclusive and equitable world, where all voices are heard and all talents are recognized.
References:
Buick, K. P. (1995). The Ideal Works of Edmonia Lewis: Invoking and Inverting Autobiography. American Art, 9(2), 5–19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3109182
Edmonia Lewis. (n.d.). National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/edmonia-lewis
Beard, M. (2021). Judgements in stone: The two contrasting styles of Edmonia Lewis, the first African American woman sculptor. TLS. Times Literary Supplement, (6181), 5. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.lapl.org/apps/doc/A678018181/LitRC?u=lapl&sid=googleScholar&xid=a0f50329
