Mary Edmonia Lewis: Art, Gender, and Ethnicity - Research Paper Example

It is a personal interest to research on Lewis as the famous sculptor is of a similar descent --- Indian American mixed with African American race. It is well known that several courageous women paved their way into history by standing up for beliefs that were considered unacceptable during their times. This purpose of this research is to provide a discourse on the impact of Lewis’ works on her image in the art and social worlds. It aims to examine the biblical and historical themes in this 19th-century sculptor’s works as perceived by her contemporaries and the artist herself (Durgans, 1995, p.6 and Buick, 2010, p.23). Art scholars view the works of artists of the American art as an expression of gender, ethnic, political, and racial identities. This proves to be a significant step towards recognizing these artists and heaving them out from ambiguity. It also aims to explore how Lewis’ endeavor in the realm of neoclassical art subjected her to a fierce struggle against men, particularly during an era when society derides women --- especially a black woman --- who competes against men in what people consider “man’s world.” (Green & Love-Carroll, 1996, p.16 and Buick, 2010, p.17) Thesis Statement Mary Edmonia Lewis, in her effort to refuse to accept the destiny fated to women of her circumstances, pursued a life that, no matter how obscure, made a solid impact to the art world, the blacks, the natives, and the women in general. She had various and somewhat inconsistent statements regarding her biography, for reasons only Lewis knows to this day. Nevertheless, it is possible that her obscure background made a significant impact to how people understand, view, and sometimes even manipulate the meanings of her art works. MARY EDMONIA LEWIS 3 Brief Backgrounder Lewis’ life remains a mystery. Her identity provides an unclear fraction in the representational landscape (Woods, 2009, p.80). Her life, works, heritage, and appearance have always been subjected to debates. There has always been an issue of inaccuracy in several aspects of her life --- from the birth details provided by her passport to the exact date of her death. It took the world a century to acquire at least solid information about the date of her death. In art history, her works serve as ciphers to her character, beliefs, and life. Consequently, historians look for and within the sculpted works of Lewis --- those she chose to sculpt, and even those she refused. Her African and Indian heritage and her beliefs towards different social institutions such as slavery, politics, love, and marriage are all revealed in her works. This tactically and ingeniously allowed Lewis to be the object of her own works (Buick, 2010, p.23-5). Inconsistent Biography As mentioned above, Lewis’ exact date of birth remains unknown to this day. Some accounts her birth date to be in 1840, some 1844, and some still as 1845. At one point, Lewis even mentioned she was born in 1854. She also claimed that her mother named her something that means “Wild Fire” in Indian. It was said that several of the beliefs surrounding her biography came from Lewis’ claims during her lifetime. Another example is her claim of place of birth to be Greenbush, near Albany, New York. However, historians say that the veracity of this claim remains unclear, since one account narrates Lewis claiming her place of birth to be Green High, Ohio. Another researcher found details showing that Lewis is the daughter of some MARY EDMONIA LEWIS 4 middle-class West Indies immigrants, and the year and place of birth is 1844 in Newark, New Jersey (Woods, 2009, p.81 and Buick, 2010, p.25). In one interview published in a publication in London in 1866, Lewis said that her mother is a wild Indian from Albany, while her father is a freed Negro slave from the West Indies (Peck, 2007, p.13). She said that she and her brother were left orphans at a young age, and were brought up by the Indian tribe. However, some researchers account a discovery in an Indian Bureau agent’s letter of a “colored man named Lewis.” Another discovery was that of a free African-American named John Mike, married to a certain Chippewa Indian named Catherine. This second discovery came with the information that the spouses lived in what is now Mississauga, Ontario --- at what used to be an Indian reservation. This led the researchers to assume that these are Lewis’ parents (Buick, 2010, p.16). Additionally, Lewis stated that she had a brother named Samuel W. Lewis whom she claimed to have been given a name meaning “Sunrise.” According to Lewis, Samuel, who was twelve years her senior, travelled for the Gold Rush, and amassed money through real-estate business. Samuel’s statements differ from Lewis’, for he said to have stood as Lewis’ guardian after their parents died (Peck, 2007, p.13 and Buick, 2010, p.15). Another significant thing to consider is that the recorded mention of Lewis’ heritage was not available until 1864. It was by Lydia Marie Child in an article in the newspaper “The Liberator.” It said that the claim of Lewis’ given name as meaning “Wild Fire” was actually a description of both her and her mother’s character. That Lewis was creating a character for her image is a big possibility, since her life proved uncontained, uninhibited, and untamed (Woods, 2009, p.77 and Buick, 2010, p.17). MARY EDMONIA LEWIS 5 Her Pride and Their Prejudice Despite the odds that came with being an Indian-African-American during her time, Lewis was able to overcome them and reached the status of being the first artist to celebrate her cultural and ethnic identity. Several people were mortified and shocked because she was able to explain her works extensively during art exhibits. She insisted on standing next to her works, and the achievements and fame stunned all those who claimed that Negroes do not have any artistic talents (Buick, 2010, p.21 and Holland, 2000, p.48). She used a mixture of viewpoint, passion, and talent in expressing her sentiments in her works, using personalities she considered heroes as subjects of her sculptures. Her sculpture of Hagar serves as a symbol for all the women who experienced struggle and suffering, while the sculpture of Cleopatra can be seen as a tribute to a courageous woman who served as a leader in the abolitionist movement (Woods, 2009, p.65). While Lewis was attending Oberlin College in 1862 (Appiah & Gates, 2005, p.1154), she served drinks to two of her friends, who were white students, who afterwards experienced food poisoning (Wilson, 2008). She was accused and taken to trial, but not before being beaten that rendered her bedridden for several weeks. She was defended by an African-American who was the first to be admitted to the Ohio bar --- an Oberlin graduate John Mercer Langston. Lewis was acquitted (Wilson, 2008 and Buick, 2010, p.17-8) and eventually returned to her studies, but one account narrated that Lewis was not allowed to enroll at Oberlin College for her final term (Green & Love-Carroll, 1996, p.16 and Buick, 2010, p.17-8). This event clearly shows how excruciating life can be for a colored person during her time. Still, Lewis did not allow this event to faze her and went on pursuing her studies and career. MARY EDMONIA LEWIS 6 There was also one event in 1863 when Lewis was accused of stealing frames, paints, and brushes (Green & Love-Carroll, 1996, p.16 and Buick, 2010, p.17-8). Also, even though it was stated above that Oberlin College did not accept her again as a student, other narratives say that Lewis merely opted to do sculpting instead. Other reports mention that Lewis met Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist, who told her to travel eastward. Despite differing narratives, what was clear was Lewis, with Samuel’s financial aid, left Oberlin College before graduating, to travel and pursue sculpting. Lewis went to Boston and studied under the supervision of Edward Brackett. Here, she met several people who, in one way or another, provided her with the breaks she needed in her career (Buick, 2010, p.36). Analytical Discourse Most, if not all, of Lewis’ works were drawn from her life experiences, heritage, and beliefs. Lewis claimed that her father was an African-American freed slave, and her sculptures such as the clay medallions of white anti-slavery leaders (Harris, 2000, p.40), “Hagar,” and “Forever Free” express her views on slavery (Niatum, 2005, p.12 and Holland, 2000, p.49). It is not hard to ascertain the personal sentiments from which Lewis obtained passion to such works. For example, Hagar symbolizes the circumstances and abuses experienced by African mothers in the U.S (National Museum, 1995, p.62). Additionally, she was as inclined to create anti-slavery themed sculptures as much as she was inclined to sculpt strong women of history. Aside from Hagar, this can be seen in her Cleopatra work (Harris, 2000, p.37 and Holland, 2000, p.40). These sculptures express her views on ordinary women showing extraordinary strength during the toughest of times (Woods, 2009, p.62) --- very much like Lewis’ life story. In “Forever Free,” the message is obvious that for a person with an African-American slave lineage, this MARY EDMONIA LEWIS 7 social institution bestowed a major impact on her life. Some of the hardships she encountered, from the food poisoning to the theft charges, or the struggles she encountered in promoting her talent and works, had a relation in some way with the discrimination against colored people that was widespread during that era (Buick, 2010, p.34). Some works too highlighted her attachment to her mother’s ancestry. There was a sculpture of a Native-American couple on their wedding called “The Marriage of Hiawatha.” Another sculpture is that of Longfellow called “Bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,” but one should understand that Lewis chose Longfellow because of his poem “Song of Hiawatha,” which served as an inspiration to Lewis. Additionally, one of her most famous works is a sculpture done in 1867 called “The Old Indian Arrow Maker and his Daughter.” Aside from these mentioned, there are other works that obviously spoke of Lewis’ love and attachment to her Indian heritage. Some other samples are the “"Bust of Minnehaha” that seems to express dignity, innocence, and untamed character despite the inevitable fate (Holland, 2000, p.47-9). All these works can be seen as Lewis’ expressions of her inner, Indian self and sentiments. Some of Lewis’ contemporaries and current art critics have further views on the “Forever Free” sculpture, white was made of white marble. It shows a man looking upwards, standing with his arm raised up in the air. The other wrist is in chains, but the chains are not pinning him down. Kneeling to his right is a praying woman (National Museum, 1995, p.62). Other than being a representation of emancipation from slavery, this is also seen as contravention to the African-American women stereotypes, as Lewis depicts the man to be partially clothed, in contrast to the woman being fully clothed. This epitomizes Lewis’ denouncement of a prevalent notion during that time that African-American women are merely sexual figures. Furthermore, it MARY EDMONIA LEWIS 8 also depicts how the African-Americans were only free in principle, but still chained to the prejudice of the society. Conclusion For a woman of color like Mary Edmonia Lewis, pre-Civil War was an era of hostility and tyranny. Lewis had no lineage to choose from as both African Americans and Native Americans were seen as uncivilized, uneducated, and inferior (Holland, 2000, p.48). Lewis, through her character, determination, life experiences, struggles, and achievements, challenged these notions in several aspects and on different levels. Lewis showed her intelligence, finesse, style, taste, and education --- and celebrated it openly --- linking her fame and achievements to her culture and ethnicity, to the utter shock of the prejudiced society during her time. Even if one would question the reasons behind her inconsistent claims on her heritage and lineage, no one can truly point out the negative effects it bestowed on Lewis nor her works. If any, it merely helped create the image she wanted to portray, and the meanings she wanted to express in her works. Furthermore, if these reasons had been premeditated, then it can be seen how mentally astute this little colored woman was. The truths she claimed pertaining to her heritage and lineage served their purposes well. There is no Chippewa word that means “wild.” Researchers say the “Wild Fire” was Lewis’ way of echoing her mother’s native language in describing themselves to tourists --- they refer to themselves as “wild Indians.” When Lewis gained further education, she was aware of the connotations attributed that specific Indian phrase (Buick, 2010, p.44-5). Obviously, she was also old enough to give it substantial reflection. However, she refused to detach from that phrase, referring to it as her name, as a warning to everyone of her character. She would never be a typical black woman whose role in society was to cook, to serve, or to take care of children. She would never be a typical colored individual whose image was inferior, uncivilized, and with no sophistication to appreciate arts. Her creation of her own identity is already a strong suggestion of her determined inner strength, and living up to it was something that is worthy of admiration and inspiration (Appiah & Gates, 2005, p.1154). References Appiah, A., & Gates, H. L. (2005). Africana: The encyclopedia of the African and African American experience. New York: Oxford University Press, 1154. Buick, K. P. (2010). Child of the fire: Mary Edmonia Lewis and the problem of art history's Black and Indian subject. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Durgans, C. E. (January 01, 1995). Edmonia Lewis. National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center Newsletter, 6. Green, R. L., & Love-Carroll, D. M. (1996). A salute to historic Black women. Chicago: Empak Pub. Co., 16 Harris, J. (2000). The Black-Indian connection in art: American portraits, soulscapes and spirit works. Hampton, Va: Hampton University Museum, 3-40 Holland, J. M. (January 01, 2000). Mary Edmonia Lewis's Minnehaha: Gender, race and the "Indian maid.". Diaspora and Visual Culture: Representing Africans and Jews, 45-56. National Museum of American Art (U.S.). (January 01, 1995). Edmonia Lewis. National Museum of American Art, 62. Niatum, D. (2005). A blackbird in the White Marmorean flock: Edmonia Lewis, sculptor of the American temperament. Seattle, WA: Duane Niatum. Peck, P. C. (January 01, 2007). CASTING THE FIRST STONE - Patricia Cleveland Peck introduces Edmonia Lewis, a 19th-century black American sculptress, who succeeded against the odds at the height of the US Civil War. History Today, 57, 10, 13. Wilson, Kip. "Edmonia Lewis: American sculptor.(Biography)." Cobblestone. Cobblestone Publishing, a division of Carus Publishing Company. 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2011 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-177589105.html Woods, N. F. (May 14, 2009). An African Queen at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition 1876: Edmonia Lewis's The Death of Cleopatra. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 9, 1, 62-82. Read More