Exceptional Artifact & Collectible Auction
Lot 289:
Original 1835 J.O. Lewis Hand Painted Lithograph of A Sioux Chief
Original 1835 J. O. Lewis hand painted lithograph of A Sioux Chief. J. O. Lewis first sketched this subject in 1825. Lewis did not record the chief’s name when he created the portrait. Published in 1835 by Lehman and Duval, Philadelphia.
James Otto Lewis (1799-1858) was an American artist and engraver known for creating one of the earliest published series of Native American portraits. He worked mainly in the Great Lakes region, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana, during a period of major treaty negotiations between the U.S. government and tribal nations. Under commission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he attended treaty councils between 1825 and 1828 and produced portraits on the spot as delegates appeared.
The Aboriginal Port Folio, published 1835-1836 in Philadelphia, is a collection of hand colored lithographs based on Lewis’s original paintings. It is historically important as the first major published series of Native American portrait lithographs in the United States. The set contains 72 plates, each depicting a Native American leader or scene, printed by Lehman and Duval, a leading lithography firm of the time.
This example is one of the original plates from the first publication of The Aboriginal Port Folio in 1835. It is a hand painted lithograph, numbered in pencil at the lower right. The lithograph measures approximately 17 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches. It is housed in a cushioned board frame measuring approximately 20 x 16 inches.
From the late Leonard E. Wally Estate Collection. Three minor tears at the bottom as shown in photos.
Condition: Authentic
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