Object Details
- Exhibition Label
- Old Arrow Maker depicts a scene from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha (1855). This poem relies on romanticized tropes about Native peoples' lifeways as incompatible with modern life. Edmonia Lewis, an Afro-Indigenous artist who was raised by her Mississauga maternal aunts, capitalized on the broad appeal of Longfellow's poem. Longfellow was an abolitionist, and his work was popular among the same people who were Lewis's primary patrons.
- Label text from The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture November 8, 2024 -- September 14, 2025
- Date
- modeled 1866
- Artist
- Edmonia Lewis, born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907
- Topic
- Figure group
- Indian
- Dress\Indian dress
- Occupation\craft\arrow maker
- Object\game\deer
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
- Data Source
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Object number
- 1983.95.179
- Type
- Sculpture
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Medium
- marble
- Dimensions
- 21 1/2 x 13 5/8 x 13 3/8 in. (54.5 x 34.5 x 34.0 cm.)
- Record ID
- saam_1983.95.179
Related Object Groups
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3D Model
