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
Copied Albert Bierstadt, Indians in Council, California, ca. 1872, oil on paper on canvas, 15 7⁄8 x 21 7⁄8 in. (40.4 x 55.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marvin J. and Shirley F. Sonosky in memory of Harryette Cohn, 1998.148
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Indians in Council, California
Artist
Date
ca. 1872
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 7⁄8 x 21 7⁄8 in. (40.4 x 55.5 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
  • Landscape — California
  • Figure group
  • Indian
  • Ceremony — Indian — council
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — teepee
Object Number
1998.148
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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)