Review: Scholarly Work Clears Up Mystery of Edmonia Lewis
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 1, 2013
As a trained historian, I approached this work with a bit of trepidation, knowing too well, that one historian's opinion is another's question. However, in the "The Indomitable Spirit of Edmonia Lewis by Harry Henderson and Albert Henderson," two very good scholars have taken many of the myths and stories about this African-American sculptress of the mid-19th century and have not only corrected them, but have also brought us first-hand sources and interviews, at the time, which show the multi-faceted person Edmonia Lewis was.  Lewis sculptures were the first that helped to show not only her African-American heritage, but also her Native American heritage and did a great deal to help shape today's beliefs in those heritages. It has taken that long for her work to be recognized as the seminal work that it was. That Harry and Albert Henderson had to spend years just tracing primary and secondary sources so that the biography was correct shows the care with this they undertook this excellent piece of biography.No, this isn't the world's most scintillating piece of writing. It tends toward the scholarly, which it rightly should, however, as the Hendersons have found new sources which refute some of the mischaracterizations of Lewis in her youth. Their work has also straightened out some of questions of Lewis' life about her passing. They also examine her body of work and her celebration of the African-American woman. Her contributions to the discussion of race in America are now finally clear thanks to the careful work the Hendersons have completed.