1085

Keokuk Chief of the Sacs and Foxes Print

Currency:USD Category:Art / General - Photography Start Price:1,250.00 USD Estimated At:2,550.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Keokuk Chief of the Sacs and Foxes Print
Preview
Holabird-Kagin Americana Office
3555 Airway Drive Suite#309
Reno, NV 89511
Thursday April 11, 10am-6pm
* Preview also available by appointment

Live Auction
Friday & Saturday
April 12-13, 2012
9am PDT starting time, both days

Location
Atlantis Casino & Resort
Grand Ballroom #4
3800 S. Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89502

Lot Pick Up
Holabird-Kagin Americana Office
3555 Airway Drive Suite #309
Reno, NV 89511
Sunday April 14th, 10am-1pm

“First Edition Lithograph after the original oils by Charles Bird King and James Otto Lewis 1836-1844”
This print measures 10.5 x 15 and the mat measures 20 x 16. There is some wear on this piece, but overall it is in fuine condition. Keokuk (1767-1848), a chief of the Sauks and Foxes, played a central role in supporting the U.S. government in the Black Hawk War in 1832, which ceded Sauk land to what is now the state of Iowa. Keokuk was not a chief by birth, but rose to command through his famously shrewd, courageous, eloquent, and honorable character. This portrait, originally painted by Charles Bird King in Washington in 1837, depicts Keokuk and his son. Keokuk holds a war banner, a symbol of his status as ruling chief. According to James Hall, the "fragile" and "innocent" appearance of Keokuk’s son, then nine or ten years old, presents a "beautiful contrast to the athletic and warlike form" of his father. HKA#63692

McKenney and Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America has long been renowned for its faithful portraits of chiefs, warriors and women of various Native American tribes.

Col. Thomas J. McKenney was a champion of Native American causes, and fought throughout his tenure to preserve something of their culture; such an integral part of the history of the United States. Hired in 1816 as the head of the United Stated Bureau of Indian Affairs, McKenney shortly thereafter began to plan an archive that would house Indian memorabilia. Between 1821-24, several delegations of Native Americans came to Washington to see President Monroe. McKenney took advantage of this opportune time to record their likenesses, commissioning Charles King and, to a lesser extent, James Lewis. More paintings were added to these over the years resulting in an impressive gallery of Indian portraiture.

In 1830, McKenney was dismissed by President Jackson and subsequently began to work the publication of a folio of the portraits. Completed 1836, the plates for the first edition were first published in 1832. The folio was a collaborative effort, the text written by James Hall based on information, which McKenney supplied. The magnitude of the project was overwhelming; McKenney battled poverty, politics, and printers to achieve his goal.

In 1865, a fire at the Smithsonian destroyed almost all of the original paintings from which the lithographs were drawn. The prints from the remaining folios are thus vital in their role as faithful recordings of Native American and pre-Civil War history.