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Indian Combat

Edmonia Lewis1868

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

Of Native American (Ojibwe) and African American ancestry, Lewis studied at Oberlin College and apprenticed with a sculptor in Boston before relocating to Rome in 1866. Her most popular works were Native American subjects, readily purchased by patrons on both sides of the Atlantic. <em>Indian Combat</em>, a spiraling composition with three intertwined figures, ranks as her most dynamic and complex creation. Although Lewis’s Native American subjects typically exist in multiple versions, this example appears to be unique.

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  • Title: Indian Combat
  • Creator: Edmonia Lewis (American, c. 1844–1907)
  • Date Created: 1868
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 76.2 x 48.3 x 36.5 cm (30 x 19 x 14 3/8 in.)
  • Provenance: [Unidentified antique/estate consignment shop, Newton, MA], William (1916-2006) and Betty (1926-2010) Bresnick, Weston, MA, [Gabriel's Auctioneers and Appraisers, Norwood, MA], [Gerald Peters Gallery, New York], The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Sculpture
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2011.110
  • Medium: marble
  • Inscriptions: The base of the sculpture is inscribed: "EDMONIA LEWIS / FECIT A ROME 1868"
  • Fun Fact: Growing up in her Ojibwe community, Lewis went by a name that translates as "Wildfire."
  • Department: American Painting and Sculpture
  • Culture: America, 19th century
  • Credit Line: American Painting and Sculpture Sundry Purchase Fund and Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
  • Collection: American - Sculpture
  • Accession Number: 2011.110
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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