| Method | Lithograph with hand colouring |
| Artist | after James Otto Lewis |
| Published | Philadelphia Published Jany. 1836. Lithograph'd by Lehman and Duval No.7 Bank Alley Philadelphia. |
| Dimensions | Image 200 x 173 mm, Sheet 323 x 240 mm |
| Notes |
A half length portrait of Sun-a-Get or Hard-Times, a Pottawatomie Chief from James Otto Lewis' important work The aboriginal port folio: or, a collection of portraits of the most celebrated chiefs of the North American Indians published in 1836. The portrait shows Sun-a-Get facing the viewer. He wears European style clothing, a blue tie at his waist with the handle of a weapon. He wears a band on his head adorned with horns. A cloak is over his shoulders. This portrait was taken by Lewis at the Treaty of Massinnewa, Indiana in 1827, the treaty, also called Treaty of the Wabash, was an 1827 treaty between the United States and the Potawatomi and Miami tribes regarding purchase of lands in Indiana and Michigan. The aboriginal port folio: or, a collection of portraits of the most celebrated chiefs of the North American Indians published in parts between 1835-36 is the first printed publication on American Indians originally issued monthly with 8 plates in each instalment. The issues were not popular however, and the publishers ran in to financial difficulties before completing the series. Because of this the series is incredibly rare and rarely seen complete. The drawings and original paintings were done by Lewis during the series of treaty meetings in the Upper Great Lakes region during the 1820's. Lewis was employed and commissioned for fifteen years by the Federal Government as a working artist, working primarily in Wisconsin and Indiana, where he painted portraits and scenes some of which appeared in the Aboriginal Portfolio. All of the original drawings created by James Otto Lewis were destroyed in a Smithsonian fire in 1865. James Otto Lewis (1799 – 1858) was an American engraver and painter who was noted for his portraiture of Native Americans. Born in Philadelphia Lewis started working with the Federal Government in 1819 as a travelling artist painting official portraits of Native Americans in an effort to preserve a record of their peoples and what was believed to be a vanishing culture during a tumultuous time. He is most known for the important work The aboriginal port folio: or, a collection of portraits of the most celebrated chiefs of the North American Indians published in 1836. Condition: Glue residue to left hand margin. Some minor creasing to sheet. Patch of thinning to lower right corner. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £300.00 |
| Stock ID | 52964 |