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Indian Combat

1868
(American, c. 1844–1907)
America, 19th century
marble
Overall: 76.2 x 48.3 x 36.5 cm (30 x 19 x 14 3/8 in.)
American Painting and Sculpture Sundry Purchase Fund and Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2011.110
Location: 207 American Realism
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Did You Know?

Growing up in her Ojibwe community, Lewis went by a name that translates as "Wildfire."

Description

A spiraling composition with three intertwined figures, Indian Combat ranks as Edmonia Lewis’s most dynamic and complex creation. Although her Native American subjects typically exist in multiple versions, this example appears to be unique. Of Indigenous (Ojibwe) and African American ancestry, Edmonia Lewis studied at Oberlin College and apprenticed with a sculptor in Boston before moving to Rome in 1866. Her sculptures were readily purchased by patrons on both sides of the Atlantic.
Indian Combat

Indian Combat

1868

Edmonia Lewis

(American, c. 1844–1907)
America, 19th century

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