Edmonia Lewis, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Edmonia Lewis was the first American woman of color to achieve international fame as a sculptor. Adopting a neoclassical style then widely popular, she found inspiration in stories from the Bible and classical mythology, as well as from African American history. Her 3,000-pound masterwork, "The Death of Cleopatra," commemorated another powerful woman who broke with convention... and then the sculpture disappeared.
On the Smithsonian Sidedoor podcast episode, "Finding Cleopatra," both Lewis and "The Death of Cleopatra" are found.
Topic
Black Women