MS01.01.03.B02.F10.046

oriented has in no ways lost its flavor over the part one hundred years. The chance to study in Rome did not take away from Edmonia Lewis the will to capture the spirit of an oppressed people with whom she had identified since birth. She was happy about ["her" Strike through] opportunity to see the gleaming capitaol of Western antiquity but her sojourn in the eternal city " ["gave" Strike through] offerred her the chance to reflect on the conditions of her people back home. Numerous letters written by the artist to friends in America attest to the inquiring mind that she had as well as the nature of her social interest in the progress that America was making towards making democracy truly representative for Black Americans after the ordeal of slavery. One should not over-look the fact that Miss Lewis also felt the need to Champion the Cause for the improvement of life among Native Americans. Subjects such as The Old Indian Arrow Maker an His Daughter [along Strikethrough], and The Marriage of Hiawathat are testimonies to the artist's naturalistic and informative [?]