About me
Editing since 13 October 2004!
Past interests
Architecture and its styles, Atlas of world history and other neat maps, Certainty, the European Union and the Eurozone (and other attempts at economic integration), Existentialism, Megaregions of the United States, Metrication in the United States, Military-related articles (e.g. Badges of the United States Navy, List of United States Army careers, Uniforms of the United States Military, United States Army branch insignia), Penny debate in the United States, Philosophy (aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, metaphysics), Psychology, Sociology, and Unit Load Device
Edmonia Lewis (1844–1907), also known as "Wildfire", was a sculptor of African-American and Native American heritage. Born free from slavery, Lewis spent her childhood in
Upstate New York and
New Jersey before moving to
Boston in 1864 to pursue her career as a sculptor. After training with marble-bust specialist
Edward Augustus Brackett, Lewis opened her own studio later in 1864. In 1866, she moved to
Rome, Italy, citing "opportunities for art culture" and finding "a social atmosphere where I was not constantly reminded of my color" as reasons for the move. She went on to spend most of her adult career there. Her largest and most significant work was a marble sculpture weighing more than 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) showing the
death of Cleopatra, which was created for the 1876
Centennial Exposition in
Philadelphia. This
albumen print of Lewis was produced in around 1870 by the German-American photographer Henry Rocher.
Photograph credit: Henry Rocher; restored by Adam Cuerden
