Indians in Council, California

Albert Bierstadt, Indians in Council, California, ca. 1872, oil on paper on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn, 1998.148
Albert Bierstadt, Indians in Council, California, ca. 1872, oil on paper on canvas, 15 7821 78 in. (40.455.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn, 1998.148
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Artwork Details

Title
Indians in Council, California
Date
ca. 1872
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 7821 78 in. (40.455.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on paper on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — teepee
  • Ceremony — Indian — council
  • Indian
  • Landscape — California
  • Figure group
Object Number
1998.148

Artwork Description

Albert Bierstadt spent two years in California in the early 1870s, sketching the landscape of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. He was fascinated by the Native Americans he encountered on his journeys and made many sketches of their dwellings, dress, and weapons, including this painting of a group of Indian leaders. He felt that the Native American way of life was “rapidly passing away,” and that it was his duty “to tell his portion of their history.” (Letter from the artist, July 10, 1859, The Crayon, quoted in Anderson and Ferber, Albert Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise, 1990)

Works by this artist (7 items)

Albert Bierstadt, Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley, ca. 1872, oil on paper mounted on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn, 2006.1.2
Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley
Dateca. 1872
oil on paper mounted on canvas
On view
Albert Bierstadt, Gates of the Yosemite, ca. 1882, oil on paper mounted on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn, 2006.1.1
Gates of the Yosemite
Dateca. 1882
oil on paper mounted on canvas
On view
Albert Bierstadt, Alaskan Coast Range, ca. 1889, oil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June, 1967.136.7
Alaskan Coast Range
Dateca. 1889
oil on paper mounted on paperboard
On view
Albert Bierstadt, Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Helen Huntington Hull, granddaughter of William Brown Dinsmore, who acquired the painting in 1873 for "The Locusts," the family estate in Dutchess County, New York, 1977.107.1
Among the Sierra Nevada, California
Date1868
oil on canvas
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

George Catlin, Comanche Giving Arrows to the Medicine Rock, 1837-1839, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.472
Comanche Giving Arrows to the Medicine Rock
Date1837-1839
oil on canvas
Not on view
William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
The Runaway Match
Date1877
oil on canvas
Not on view