Hiawatha

Art Historical Context

Edmonia Lewis's *Hiawatha* (1868) is a delicate marble bust capturing the legendary Iroquois figure from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem *The Song ofiawatha*. Carved to precise dimensions of 13¾ × 7¾ × 5½ inches, this intimate sculpture resides in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, reflecting its place in 19th-century American art Lewis, a trailblazing sculptor of African and Ojibwe heritage, often from Native American themes, infusing her works with personal and cultural resonance. Created during the post-Civil War era,Hiawatha* embodies neoclassical ideals with its smoot...