It’s not often that I come across paintings or drawings of Native Americans at auction. And when I do, they’re usually images of chiefs and warriors in native dress, romanticized portraits from the nation’s early history when they were fighting to save their culture and way of life.
This week, I visited two auction houses that were selling artwork of chiefs, warriors and others – some beautifully done and, as usual, showing the people in all their regality.
At the first auction house, the artwork was ensconced in lovely inlaid frames. Four pairs of them were laid out on a sofa almost hidden by other items. The colors of the people’s garments were brilliant, their expressions serious. They reminded me of old black and white photographs I had seen of Native Americans in books and other places.
When I researched the artwork, I found that these weren’t just any drawings. They were copies of portraits commissioned in the 1800s by a U.S. official who understood the importance of recording the history of a people whom he felt were being erased.
Stuck to the glass in the upper right corner of the frames were printed labels with the name “McKenney & Hall, Gallery Price $275.” I Googled and learned that these were reproductions of portraits from McKenney & Hall’s “History of the Indian Tribes of North America” from the early 19th century. I found lithographs of these drawings on the website of the Philadelphia Print Shop, where they were selling for up to $1,000 or more, as well as on some other sites for more.
Thomas McKenney and James Hall were responsible for documenting the great Native American leaders at that time through portraits. A delegation of Native Americans came to Washington in 1821 to meet with President Monroe to discuss the westward expansion into their lands. McKenney, head of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, commissioned several artists – most of the works were done by Charles Byrd King – to paint them. Other portraits were added over the years.
Hall, a Cincinnati judge and writer, wrote the historical text and biographies for the book, which was published in three volumes.
McKenney had lithographs made of the portraits and published copies in the “History” book. That turned out to be a good idea, because most of the original paintings were destroyed in a fire in 1865 at the Smithsonian Institution.
Here are the names on some of the reproductions offered for auction:
Yoholo Micco and his son Mistippee – a Creek chief
Meta Koosega – Metakoosega, a Chippewa warrior.
Ne.O.Mon.Ne – Neomonne or Neomonni, an Ioway chief.
Ong.Pa.Ton.Ga – Ongpatonga, chief of the Omaha
The second auction was offering two oil paintings, one done in June 1925 by an H.G. Hunt, whom I could not identify.
