Images(3)

Friend or Foe

Artist Alfred Jacob Miller (American, 1810 - 1874)

Dateafter 1851

Mediumoil on paperboard

Dimensions8 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches (22.2 x 37.5 cm)
Frame: 13 1/4 × 19 1/4 × 1 inches (33.7 × 48.9 × 2.5 cm)

Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965

Object number31.34.44

ClassificationsPaintings

DescriptionThe painting’s subject comes from the publication Tah-gah-jute or Logan and Captain Michael Cresap, a Discourse by Brantz Mayer, Delivered in Baltimore, Before the Maryland Historical Society, On Its Sixth Anniversary, 9 May 1851. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1851.

On page 28: But as Brown bent over the clear and mirroring water he beheld, on the opposite side, reflected in the limpid basin the tall shadow of a stately Indian! With instinctive energy he sprang to regain his weapon while the Indian yelled—whether for peace or war he was unable to determine;--but as he seized his rifle and faced the foe, the savage dashed open the pan of his gun, and scattering the powder, extended his open palm in token of friendship.

That seems to be the passage that is inscribed on the verso of the painting. Since the inscription seems to refer to the actual page number, it is most likely this painting was painted after the publication of the book.

According to the text, the figure kneeling is William Brown and the man with him is James Reed, two pioneers. The Indian is Logan, the son of Shikellamy. Logan’s Indian name was Tah-gah-jute or Short Dress.

Provenance(Edward Eberstadt & Sons, New York, New York)[1]; purchased February 10, 1958 by H.J. Lutcher Stark [1887-1965]; bequeathed September 2, 1965 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art | 1. “We have been some ten or a dozen years amassing the rest of this collection from various individuals who were direct descendents[sic] of the pioneer artist himself.” (excerpt from a letter to HJLS from Charles Eberstadt dated November 26, 1957)

On View

Not on view