Indian Chieftain
Artist
Paul Kane
(Canadian, 1810 - 1871)
Datec. 1848
Mediumoil on paper
Dimensions11 1/8 x 8 1/4 inches (28.3 x 21 cm)
Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965
Object number31.78.163
ClassificationsPaintings
Label TextKane probably sketched this work after he left Fort Pitt, a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post. It was on the Saskatchewan River, near the border of present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan. It was also a place where several Indian peoples came together.
Kane used the facial features of this chief in a large group portrait of a Blackfoot war party. He did not record this man’s name, but referred to him as a lesser chieftain and remarked that his face was partially blackened because he was mourning for a friend.
ProvenanceArtist; by descent to his grandson, Paul Kane III [1889-1958], Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; purchased September 17, 1957 through (Edward Eberstadt & Sons, New York, New York) 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
On View
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