Mary Edmonia Lewis (c. July 4, 1844 – September 17, 1907). A successful international sculptor. Born in New York, of African-American and Native American (Mississauga Ojibwe) heritage. Lewis lived most of her life in Rome, where she received much support from her friend Charlotte Cushman, a pivotal figure in expatriate lesbian artist circles in Rome alongside her partner Matilda Hays (in turn, one of the first translators of George Sand into English).

The American poet Tyehimba Jess referred to Lewis’s marble sculptures in his 2012 poetry collection Olio.  


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