Edmonia Lewis: Creating The Death of Cleopatra

Class time: 5-7 pm Central (Chicago) time, also will be recorded on Zoom for students to watch later.

Instructor: Tasha Vorderstrasse, Manager, Contininuing Education Program

Edmonia Lewis' (ca. 1844-1907) monumental statue The Death of Cleopatra (exhibited in 1876 in the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition), represents not only her masterwork, but also is an important statue for our understanding of the depiction of historical figures in the 19th century. In the 19th century, historical figures or events were popular subjects for painting and sculptures. Edmonia Lewis operated within the Neoclassical style, which was inspired by Classical (Greek and Roman) antiquity, but she nevertheless, produced sculptures that were not entirely typical. And while she was not alone in depicting Cleopatra at the moment of her death, the way she did so was considered quite shocking to some audiences at the time. For instance, in 1878, William Clark wrote that the statue was "ghastly" and "quite repellent." Nevertheless, he praised Lewis for producing a work of such quality.

This class will look at Edmonia Lewis's life and work in order to understand why Edmonia Lewis created the statue that she did. Edmonia Lewis established herself as a famous sculptor but noted that she had to move to Rome to do so, as opportunities for a sculptor of Black-Mississauga Ojibwe heritage were difficult to find in the United States. It will look at her different sculptures and examine the recent historical studies of Edmonia Lewis which lead to a better understanding of her work and her place in American art and the interpretation of the ancient Egyptian past.

This is a free class. Registrants will receive an invitation to join CANVAS, the University of Chicago's online learning platform, about a week in advance of the class.

Image credits: Photograph of Edmonia Lewis by Henry Rocher, 1826 - 1887, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Edmonia Lewis, The Death of Cleopatra, carved 1876, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Historical Society of Forest Park, Illinois, 1994.17