North American Indian Portraits: 120 Full-Color Plates from the McKenney-Hall Portrait Gallery of American Indians

by James D. Horan

ONE of the most impressive and ambitious undertakings in publishing history, this volume is a rare fusion of art and history, containing over 125 superb color portraits of some of the most famous Indians in American history, reproduced as they were painted more than 150 years ago by a group of the country's most perceptive artists. Written by James D. Horan, novelist, historian, and author of many well-known books on the western frontier, it reproduces the portraits from three portfolios first published in 1836, today worth many thousands of dollars. The original portraits, which were on display in the Smithsonian Institution, were destroyed by fire in 1865. All types of Indians are included in this significant work-from the most noble warriors and imposing statesmen to the most downtrodden tribesmen and exploited chiefs. The great and colorful cast of characters, painted by Charles Bird King and other important American artists, includes Black Hawk, who gave his name to a war; Joseph Brant, the great Mohawk war captain who could hurl a tomahawk or translate the Bible into the Mohawk language with equal facility; Pocahontas, the famous daughter of Powhatan who married an Englishman and became the first Indian convert to Christianity in Virginia; KataNvabcda, the Chippewa chief who refused to participate in any white man's war-one of the first Indian advocates of peace; Tshusick, a shrewd Indian confidence woman who captured Washington; and Petalesharo, the handsome Pawnee chief who saved a young Comanche girl from human sacrifice and became a national celebrity. THE PORTRAIT GALLERY also contains fascinating material not found in the original portfolios. A magnificent achievement, both for its superb artwork and historical scope, the book will be welcomed by everyone who wants to rediscover a lost part of our American heritage and examine the Indian's role in our society from a uniquely important vantage point.

Genres: American History

124 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 1986

About the author

James David Horan was an American newspaper editor, author and novelist. Born in New York City, he studied at Drake College in Jersey City and at the New York University Writing Center. He wrote more then 40 books, primarily history or historical fiction, and was employed as Special Events Editor for the New York Journal American for many years. He was the recipient of numerous awards for his books, and a member of many organizations of writers and historians.

He and his wife, Gertrude Dorrity, had four children.

Reviews

[Kathleen Hulser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas McKenny, the Supt. of Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1816 till he was fired by Andrew Jackson had Charles Bird King paint portraits of the chiefs who traveled to Washington to be wined and dined as the governments of Madison, Monroe and Jackson tussled with sovereignty and diplomacy with Indian nations. Washington junkets never made up for the skullduggery on the frontier and the sneaky treaties that steadily dispossessed those very same chiefs feted at the White House and painted in full regalia for Thomas McKenny's office walls. Fascinating record, testimony to a fraught relationship at a key moment.