Last Stand Hill from the series History

Media - 2017.41.27 - SAAM-2017.41.27_1 - 134055
Copied David Levinthal, Last Stand Hill from the series History, 2014, inkjet print, 17 × 22 in. (43.2 × 55.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr., 2017.41.27, © 2014, David Levinthal

Artwork Details

Title
Last Stand Hill from the series History
Date
2014
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
17 × 22 in. (43.2 × 55.9 cm)
Copyright
© 2014, David Levinthal
Credit Line
Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr.
Mediums Description
inkjet print
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — male
  • Indian
  • Occupation — military — soldier
  • Dress — uniform — military uniform
  • State of being — death
  • Landscape — Montana
  • State of being — illness — wound
  • Object — other — flag
  • Object — weapon — gun
  • Equestrian
  • Architecture Exterior — military — battlefield
Object Number
2017.41.27

Artwork Description

Last Stand Hill reimagines the infamous event also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer's Last Stand. The conflict unfolded in south-central Montana from June 25 to 26, 1876, between the Seventh Regiment of the U.S. Calvary and warriors of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. Despite their defeat, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his regiment quickly became heroic legends. Levinthal has referenced this decisive battle many times and many different ways over the years. This repetition gestures to the event's cultural prominence and its multiple interpretations.