Edmonia Lewis Carves Her Own Path
Written by Studio AM.
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Edmonia Lewis was the first widely recognized sculptor of African American and Native American heritage. Born around 1844, she studied at Oberlin College, which admitted women and Black students. Racism and violence disrupted her education, but she continued creating. Lewis moved to Boston, where abolitionists supported her work. She sold portrait medallions of antislavery figures and traveled to Rome in 1865. Rome offered an international community and access to marble and classical sculpture.
Many sculptors modeled works in clay or plaster and employed skilled artisans to carve marble versions. Lewis also ran a workshop. Visitors described assistants helping with copies, portraits, and ambitious sculptures. These accounts show a more complex practice than the image of an artist working entirely alone. Through her designs and direction, Lewis asserted authorship in a field shaped by racism and sexism.
Her sculptures drew on biblical stories, freedom, and Native American subjects. “Forever Free,” made after the end of slavery in the United States, presents a Black couple at emancipation. Her large work “The Death of Cleopatra” impressed viewers at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, then disappeared from the art world for decades before being recovered and restored.
Lewis built a career through artistic decisions, workshop organization, and public recognition. She worked within popular styles while choosing subjects tied to identity and liberation. Her path shows that artistic authorship includes not only imagining a form, but securing the right to be recognized as its maker.
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Questions
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Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the biography?
The answer is B: Edmonia Lewis developed an artistic career through her designs, marble workshop, and subjects of identity despite racial and gender barriers.
The biography connects barriers, workshop leadership, chosen subjects, and recognition as an artist.
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Question 2 of 4
What does the account of Lewis's assistants suggest about her practice?
The answer is C: Her work included organizing a workshop as well as developing artistic ideas.
The workshop produced copies, portraits, and larger sculptures under Lewis's design and direction.
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Question 3 of 4
What does “asserted” mean in the second paragraph?
The answer is D: stated and defended firmly
Lewis established and defended her authorship through her designs and direction.
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Question 4 of 4
Where did Lewis move before traveling to Rome?
The answer is A: Boston
The first paragraph describes her move to Boston and later journey to Rome.
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