Edmonia Lewis had an unusual nickname—”Wildfire.” Half Black and half Native American, she was born in 1844, grew up in Niagara Falls, and was raised largely by her aunts. “Until I was 12 years old I led this wandering life, fishing and swimming … and making moccasins. I was then sent to school for three years [in McGrawville], but was declared to be wild—they could do nothing with me.” Wild she may have been, but Lewis was also determined. Against all odds, she was accepted by Ohio’s Oberlin Collegiate Institute—one of 30 students of color among 1,000. Her time there ended in scandal: she was accused of poisoning fellow students, then acquitted. By then, Lewis had discovered her true calling—sculpture—and in 1866 she fled for Rome. “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.” There, Lewis carved her career in marble, producing beguiling neoclassical sculptures that brought her international attention. When she died, in 1907, she had become the first Black sculptor to achieve worldwide recognition. This exhibition is the first museum show to present the full sweep of Lewis’s astonishing work. —Elena Clavarino