Legacy of the 54th Supporting the 54th

Item contributed by Museum of African American History, Boston & Nantucket

Edmonia Lewis came to Boston in 1863 to pursue a career in art. She received training in sculpture, opening a studio at Tremont and Bromfield Streets. Lewis witnessed the departure of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in May 1863, and she received a commission to create several plaster likenesses and this marble bust of Colonel Shaw. At the base of the bust is the inscription “Martyr for Freedom.”




About item:

Marble Sculpture, 1864. Created by Edmonia Lewis in Boston, Massachusetts. Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, 154.

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