Otelia Cromwell Glass Tile & Coaster
This handmade glass coaster features an image of Otelia Cromwell, distinguished scholar, educator, lawyer and author. She graduated from Smith College in 1900 and was the first African American student to earn a degree from the College.
- 4" wide and 4" in length
- Clear rubber bumpers on the bottom to protect your surfaces
The artist, Laurie Freivogel, screen prints the image onto clear glass, then fuses the glass in a kiln to 1400F degrees.
Laurie "My imagery and drawings are primarily inspired by pop culture, pattern and nature. Using fine enamels, I print with multiple screens onto layers of glass to create depth, and using my knack for color and composition, pair it with an amazing glass palette."
Designed and made outside of Chicago, Illinois.
Price: $22.00
Member Price: $20
About Otelia Cromwell
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1874, Otelia Cromwell was the first of six children born to Lucy McGuinn and John Wesley Cromwell, a journalist, educator and the first African American to practice law with the Interstate Commerce Commission. Otelia Cromwell's life and work were characterized by a deep sense of justice and responsibility toward others, a quality that was reinforced when her mother died in 1886 when Otelia was 12, leaving her in charge of her younger siblings.
After graduating from the Miner Normal School, Otelia Cromwell taught in the Washington, D.C., public schools for several years. She transferred to Smith College in 1898 and graduated in 1900. She returned to teaching for a number of years and then resumed her education, receiving a master of arts from Columbia University and a doctorate from Yale University in 1926; Cromwell was the first African American woman to receive a Yale doctorate. She soon became professor and chair of the department of English language and literature at Miner Teachers College in Washington, D.C.
Cromwell remained at Miner Teachers College until her retirement in 1944. A distinguished scholar and teacher, she authored three books and numerous articles including Readings From Negro Authors, for Schools and Colleges, the result of collaboration with Eva B. Dykes and Lorenzo Dow Turner. It was one of the first collections of its kind. She received an honorary degree from Smith College in 1950.