Pin Portage
Artist
Paul Kane
(Canadian, 1810 - 1871)
Date1846
Mediumoil on paper
Dimensions8 1/8 x 13 1/4 inches (20.6 x 33.7 cm)
Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965
Object number31.78.162
ClassificationsPaintings
Label TextOn May 25, 1846, after a few miles of navigating up the stream, Kane and his party reached an area covered with sharp rocks. Further navigation was impossible. The men had to carry their canoes on their shoulders to avoid damage. This practice, called “portage” was common in North America as well as in many cultures around the world. Kane noted that the place was called Pin Portage because the rocks were so sharp “as to actually cut the feet of the men, who usually go barefooted or only wearing light moccasins." Kane, Wanderings, Chapter III.
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
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