First Internationally Acclaimed African American
Sculptor
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DESCRIPTIONS"Whether the little lady has genius,
or not, she certainly is largely
endowed with one element of success; for
her perseverance is
unconquerable. What she undertakes
to do that she will do,
though she has to cut through the heart of mountains with a pen knife. "I judged by her complexion that there might be some of what was called white blood in her veins. She replied, “'No, I have not a single drop of what is called white blood in my veins. My father was a full-blooded negro, and my mother was a full-blooded Chippewa.'” Lydia Maria Child "... a girl about twenty years old, of brown complexion and a short, slight figure. She had that quickness and brusqueness of voice and motion, which indicate want of drill in the conventional rules of society; but she had a degree of natural modesty and frankness far more agreeable to me than the uniform smoothness of fashionable manners, always lifeless and generally hypocritical." Lydia Maria Child "She looks quite handsome in her crimson working-cap." Anne Whitney "Miss Edmonia Lewis has a very engaging appearance and manners. Her eyes and the upper part of her face are fine; the crisp hair and thick lips, on the other hand, bespeak her negro paternity. Naïve in manner, happy and cheerful and all-unconscious of difficulty, because obeying a great impulse, she prattles like a child and with much simplicity and spirit pours forth all her aspirations." Henry Wreford
"In her coarse but appropriate attire, with her black hair loose, and grasping in her tiny hand the chisel with which she does not disdain—perhaps with which she is obliged—to work, and with her large, black, sympathetic eyes brimful of simple, unaffected enthusiasm, Miss Lewis is unquestionably the most interesting representative of our country in Europe." Henry T. Tuckerman's correspondent "She is young, cheerful & strong, unusually good-looking for her race, though she has its salient characteristics of physiognomy & voice." Frances E. Willard "Edmonia is well below the medium height, her complexion and features betray her African origin; her hair is more of the Indian type, black, straight, and abundant. She wears a red cap in her studio, which is very picturesque and effective; her face is a bright, intelligent, and expressive one. Her manners are childlike, simple, and most winning and pleasing. She has the proud spirit of her Indian ancestor and if the [sic, she] has more of the African in her personal appearance, she has more of the Indian in her character." Laura Curtis Bullard "You have, of course, known that Edmonia Lewis is black but you are hardly prepared to see so few traces of the Indian blood, which you were told she has in her veins and you look in vain for the signs of genius which spoke so eloquently from the countenances of the artists you have seen before. As you look more closely you notice that her eye is bright and glowing with a subdued fire, but her hand is large and uncouth." anonymous interviewer "She is about medium height, with a pretty and interesting face. Her soft brown eyes are an index of a pleasant, and her smiling face of a merry, disposition. Her manners and unaffected and charming, while her conversation is bright, affable and witty. She is quite an accomplished linguist, and is remarkably shrewd and intelligent." Lail Gay Miss Lewis, or, as she calls herself, Edmonia, is rather small in stature with the regular features of her race, and in color is a little lighter than the ordinary negro. Her eyes, however, are large, brown and sparkling, her forehead is broad and high, and her hair is allowed to fall over her shoulders untrammeled by bow or ribbon. She is a charming conversationalist, using the choicest language, shows a wonderful enthusiasm in her work, and speaks freely of her past life and future prospects." anonymous interviewer "Although a fluent talker when the theme is such as to arouse her enthusiasm, she has something of the habitual quietude and stoicism of the Indian race. In person she is rather below the medium stature, and strong and supple rather than delicately made. She bends slightly forward in speaking, pronounces slowly and deliberately, and has a trace of the sadness of both races in her manner, notwithstanding her assured artistic success." anonymous reporter
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