Native People
Since I was a child I have been fascinated with Native American people and how they are depicted in folk art. Portraits of Indians can tell us much about both the culture they depict and the culture that created them
Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow (baptized Brant), King of the Maquas, 1710
One of the “Four Indian Kings” taken by Phillip Schuyler to Queen Anne’s court in 1710. Schuyler hoped to inspire the British government to invest more money in a planned invasion against the French in Canada. Four Iroquois chiefs were brought along in an effort to gain publicity for the cause. They became instant celebrities in London, and several popular engravings of them were made. The Queen commission John Verelst, a Dutch painter living in London, to paint their portraits. The original works are currently a Canadian national treasure, acquired from the British government in 1977. This reproduction was painstakingly crafted in authentic colors on an imported linen canvas. The frame, made of local cherry, was also handcrafted by the artist. I am currently in the process of painting the other three portraits in the series and plan to create the “Fifth King,” an image of an Iroquois man who left with Schuyler but never made it to England.
The McKenny-Hall Project
Thomas McKenny, a government official supervising Indian affairs developed a plan to have images if important Native personages painted by artists such as Charles Bird King and John Mix Stanley. The paintings were published as prints in 1837 in the McKenney-Hall History of the Indian Tribes of North America. Most of the originals, on display at the Smithsonian, were destroyed in a tragic fire in 1865, another sad metaphor for the Native American experience. I hope to recreate as much of the original gallery as I can, bringing these works back to life.
Mohongo
8” x 10” oil on board $300
Red Jacket, a Seneca Orator
8” x 10” oil on canvas $225
See my Edward Hicks page for another painting with Native Americans
24” x 36” oil on linen Sold
Available as a commission, $2500
Etow oh Koam, King of the River People, 1710
Second in my re-creations of Verelst’s “Four Indian Kings” is just off the easel. As with Brant (below), Etow oh Koam is rendered in oils on imported linen, 24” x 36,” plus my classic hand-made cherry frame. Please e-mail for more detailed photos, or if you are interested in purchasing.
Available now at $2500
