United States / 1868
Indian Combat
Indian Combat
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Indian Combat as sculpture (United States · 1868).
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
Growing up in her Indigenous community, Lewis went by a name that translates as "Wildfire."
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as marble and credits Edmonia Lewis (American, c. 1844–1907).
The museum's collection notes: A spiraling composition with three intertwined figures, Indian Combat ranks as Edmonia Lewis’s most dynamic and complex creation. Although her Native American subjects typically exist in multiple versions, this example appears to be unique. Of Indigenous (Mississauga) and African American ancestry, Edmonia Lewis studied at Oberlin College and apprenticed with a sculptor in Boston before moving to Rome in 1866. Her sculptures were readily purchased by patrons on both sides of the Atlantic.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtIndian CombatOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.