Forever Free is a life-size, marble sculpture by the nineteenth-century artist Edmonia Lewis (c. 1844-1907). It was made in response to the Emancipation Proclamation (1867) and represents two previously enslaved individuals responding to their new freedom.

 Over the years, historians have worked diligently to piece together the narrative of Lewis’s life and trace the career of this remarkable artist. She was born in 1844 to an African American father and Chippewa mother. She became one of the first women of color to attend Oberlin College before pursuing an arts career in Boston – during the height of the Civil War. Lewis constantly sought to improve and refine her practice, leading her to later move to Europe. She disrupted Neoclassical stylistic conventions by proudly showcasing her identity. At the time, the African American and Native American experience was often reduced to exoticized caricatures, but Lewis imbued her figures with strength, passion, and resistance. Unfortunately, most of her work has not survived or has been lost to history. Yet her works like Forever Free highlight her determination and skill as an artist.

“Sometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome, but where there is a will, there is a way. I pitched in and dug at my work until now I am where I am. It was hard work though, but with color and sex against me, I have achieved success. That is what I tell my people whenever I meet them, that they must not be discouraged, but work ahead until the world is bound to respect them for what they have accomplished.” -Edmonia Lewis

Learn more about the artist that inspired this pin HERE.