HISTORY | ART
Beaten And Left For Dead — The Story of Sculptor Edmona Lewis
The First Professional African-American Sculptor
Edmonia had been dragged into an open field and nearly beaten to death. It was 1862 and the civil war had just started in America. Prejudice was a daily occurrence for Lewis but this was to be the first and last time she was beaten. Rural Oberlin, Ohio was no place to study.
After her second trial and subsequent later charge of aiding and abetting a burglary, Lewis had had enough and left America for good. In Europe, Lewis would finally earn the respect her talent deserved.
Throughout her life, Lewis fudged the edges of truth. She had the ability to weave a tale in order to protect herself and help further her goals. Maybe it was a simple ruse to sell more art. People love a good origin story and one that was filled with the exotic charm of a childhood in a wigwam hunting, fishing, and making moccasins was an easier sell. Born in Albany, New York, Lewis’s white lies and pretense of being a ‘noble savage’ helped shaped her eventual career as America’s first successful Black female sculptor.
But success didn’t come easy.
Lewis was often targetted on a daily basis with casual racism and discrimination. Despite the…
