The Google image today shows Edmonia Lewis, an African American sculptor who was best known for her monumental statue of Cleopatra, shown at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. What makes her of special interest to us is that her half-brother, Samuel W. Lewis, was one of the earliest residents of Bozeman, a successful barber whose house is on the National Register of Historic places. There are lots of stories about Edmonia Lewis on the web today. One of the most popular seems to be this piece from Al Jazeera. I couldn’t find anything to indicate that Edmonia herself ever visited Montana. Continue Reading →
