DEVOTED SOLDIERS OF ISRAEL · ROOTED IN SCRIPTURE
DSOI crestDEVOTED SOLDIERS OF ISRAEL
Black Inventors & History Makers / Edmonia Lewis
Arts & Literature

Edmonia Lewis

1860s–1870s

An international career in sculpture

What Edmonia contributed

Created marble sculptures exploring history, freedom, and her African American and Native American heritage.

The story

Lewis established a studio in Rome and gained international recognition. Her major works include Forever Free and The Death of Cleopatra, displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Why it matters

She established a place for a Black and Native American woman in the international fine-art world.

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