Portrait of a Woman

Soft facial features, a delicately carved lace bodice, and wavy hair adorned with a flower communicate not only the taste and beauty of the unknown sitter, but also Edmonia Lewis’s skill as a sculptor. Lewis’s successful early career helped her finance a move to Rome in 1867, where she lived among fellow American women sculptors, including Harriet Hosmer. There, Lewis was the first American of color to gain international fame as a sculptor, and she completed many portrait commissions for visiting tourists and patrons in the United States.