Edmonia Lewis

“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.”

“My features I take from my father, but my spirit, my industry and perseverance I get from my Indian mother.”

“One day, I saw a statue of Benjamin Franklin, and I said to myself, 'I can do that kind of work, too.'”

“There is nothing so beautiful as the free forest. To catch a fish when you are hungry, cut the boughs of a tree, make a fire to roast it, and eat it in the open air, is the greatest of all luxuries. I would not stay a week pent up in cities if it were not for my passion for art.”

“I was practically driven to Rome in order to obtain the opportunities for art culture and to find a social atmosphere where I was not constantly reminded of my color. The land of liberty had no room for a colored sculptor.”

“I have a strong sympathy for all women who have struggled and suffered.”

“I thought I knew everything when I came to Rome, but I soon found I had everything to learn.”

“Until I was twelve years old, I led this wandering life, fishing, swimming, and making moccasins.”

“Some praise me because I am a colored girl, and I don't want that kind of praise. I had rather you would point out my defects, for that will teach me something.”

“No, I have not a drop of what they call white blood in my veins. My father was a full blooded Negro, and my mother was a full blooded Chippewa.”