Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Displays Work in Boston
On this day in 1864, sculptor Edmonia Lewis exhibited two of her early pieces at the Colored Soldiers' Fair in Boston. The daughter of a Native American woman and a black man, Lewis was the first American of color to earn an international reputation as a sculptor. At the Soldiers' Fair, she showed a full-length figure of Sergeant William H. Carney and a marble bust of the martyred Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, both heroes of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. By 1865, Lewis had earned enough money from her work to leave Boston for Europe. While she made periodic trips back to the U.S., she built an extraordinarily successful career in Rome, employing as many as six assistants in her studio.
Related Moments
Dr. Harriot K. Hunt Visits the Shakers
Dr. Harriot K. Hunt Visits the Shakers
On this day in 1848, Dr. Harriot K. Hunt of Boston, one of the nation's first female physicians, made a visit to the Shaker community in Harvard. She found much to her liking. There were...
54th Massachusetts Regiment Marches Through Boston
54th Massachusetts Regiment Marches Through Boston
On this day in 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first black regiment from the North, paraded in full dress uniform on Boston Common. Crowds cheered as 1,007 black soldiers and 37 white officers...
Longfellow's Wife Dies
Longfellow's Wife Dies
On this day in 1835, 28-year-old Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was devastated by the death of his beloved young wife, Mary. The couple had been traveling in Europe as the poet prepared to begin teaching literature...
