BOZEMAN, Mont. — A collaboration between Montana Technological University, Montana State University and the Smithsonian American Art Museum has brought a historic 19th-century sculpture back to life through 3D printing.
The project recreated The Death of Cleopatra, an 1876 sculpture by Edmonia Lewis, one of the first Black and Native American women to gain international recognition as a sculptor.
The original 3,000-pound marble sculpture disappeared from the art world for more than a century before being rediscovered in the 1980s. It is now part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
MSU professors Melissa Ragain and Regina Gee approached Montana Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Group about recreating the sculpture for an exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.
Using high-resolution digital scans provided by the Smithsonian, Montana Tech researchers Nathan Huft, Jadon Bingham and Daniel Topp used five 3D printers to produce 115 pieces over 1,150 hours. The pieces were assembled in approximately 30 hours.
Bingham and Topp, both 2026 mechanical engineering graduates, continued working on the project after graduation. MSU’s School of Art completed the painting and finishing work.
The finished replica is on display as part of the Chisel and Razor exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies through Sept. 12, 2027.
More information is available at museumoftherockies.org/exhibitions/chisel-and-razor.