February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, so DailyArt Magazine have been featuring interesting and overlooked African-American artists all month. I chose to write about African-American and Native-American sculptor Edmonia Lewis (c. 1844-1907). Lewis depicted characters like Cleopatra and Hiawatha in a Neo-Classical style and on a grand scale. She was a resourceful and resilient woman, who overcame significant prejudices in her life. However, her biography is still a bit of a mystery. I love Edmonia’s work, and I always find myself stopping happily in front of her busts of Hiawatha and Minnehaha (shown here) every time I visit the American Wing at the Met.
Read my article here: “The Fabulous Sculpture and Mysterious Life of Edmonia Lewis“. Published on DailyArt Magazine, February 13, 2020.
