Old Arrow Maker

American Art Museum

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3D Model

Object Details

Artist

Edmonia Lewis, born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907

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

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins

Date

modeled 1866

Object number

1983.95.179

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Sculpture

Medium

marble

Dimensions

21 1/2 x 13 5/8 x 13 3/8 in. (54.5 x 34.5 x 34.0 cm.)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Figure group

Indian

Dress\Indian dress

Occupation\craft\arrow maker

Object\game\deer

Metadata Usage

CC0

Link to Original Record

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7618fe8b3-0c10-4de3-92b5-bebbdab20304

Record ID

saam_1983.95.179