Edmonia Lewis

Mary Edmonia Lewis was an American sculptor who worked for most of her career in Rome, Italy. She is the first woman of AfricanAmerican and Native American heritage to achieve international fame and recognition as a sculptor in the fine arts world. Her work is known for incorporating themes relating to black and American Indian people into Neoclassical style sculpture. By the end of the 19th century, she was the only black woman who had participated in and been recognized to any degree by the American artistic mainstream. She emerged during the crisisfilled days of the Civil War. In 2002, the scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Edmonia Lewis on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

Edmonia Lewis birth date has been listed as July 4, 1844. She was born in Greenbush, New York, which is now the city of Rensselaer. Her father was an AfroHaitian, while her mother was of Mississauga Ojibwe and AfricanAmerican descent. Lewiss mother was known as an excellent weaver and craftswoman, while her father was a gentlemans servant. Her family background inspired Lewis in her later work.

Source: Wikipedia