Large, RARE American Indian Lithograph - McKenney Hall’s Tribes of North America

Description: This is a rare, mid-19th century, stone lithograph of the Sioux chief "Sleepy Eye." It's presented as found, in its 19th century oak frame with its original "wavy" antique glass. Lithograph: 14" W x 17.5" L Oak Frame: 20.25" x 24" Lithograph Title: "Esh-Tah-Hum-Leah, or the Sleepy Eye, A Sioux Chief" The large lithograph is from the last folio edition of "History of the Indian Tribes of North America" which was published in 1872. It's a portrait of Sioux chief Esh-Tah-Hum-Leah wearing feathers in hair with two, long braids, a scarf around his neck, and a blanket over his right shoulder. Sleepy Eyes (Esh-tah-hum-leah) was a Sioux chief from about 1822 until his death in 1860. His band, known as the Swan Lake or Little Rock Band, hunted in southwestern Minnesota and southeastern Dakota until forced to move to reservation land near the Minnesota River. He was a signer of at least four treaties with the United States government, including the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, and he met with President James Monroe in Washington, D.C. in 1824. The two authors of "History of the Indian Tribes of North America" were Thomas McKenney, the Superintendent of Indian Trade and James Hall, a lawyer who had written extensively about the American West. They saw their book as a way of preserving an accurate visual record of a rapidly disappearing culture. In their book, portraits of 100 Native chiefs are preserved along with biographies and descriptions. Charles Bird King (1785-1862) is credited painting this portrait of Sleepy Eye while he posed for the artist. To reproduce the painting for the book, it was hand drawn onto stone to be printed as a stone lithograph. Once printed (on wove paper), the lithograph was hand colored using watercolor paints. It was published in one of the most important color plate books produced in America in the age of lithography, "History of the Indian Tribes of North America." King's original paintings were eventually transferred to the Smithsonian Institute, where most of them perished in the January 1865 fire so the stone lithographs are all that is left to remember these honorable Indian chiefs. Condition: Very Good to Excellent Weight: 6 lbs.

Price: 450 USD

Location: Richmond, Virginia

End Time: 2025-01-05T22:51:43.000Z

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