Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
In-ca-tash-a-pa
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Extracts from Alfred Jacob Miller’s original text, which accompanied his images of Native Americans, shaped how Miller’s contemporaries viewed the watercolors, and often reveal the racism and sexism embedded in 19th-century exploration and colonization of the western part of what is today the United States.
Red Elk, as In-ca-tash-a-pa's name was translated, was a distinguished Snake warrior. Miller has painted him with an ornamented bandeau set off by a rosette with feathers. Wampum beads encircle his neck, along with a kind of flat shell.
While not as detailed in terms of costume and decoration as Catlin's and Bodmer's Indian portraits, Miller's are more romantic in their conception and presentation. Both Bodmer and Catlin strove for accuracy in detail, while Miller was interested in showing the Indians as the noble savages in the wilderness.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1858-1860, by commission; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2006 | Alfred Jacob Miller and the Western Indians. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1981-1982 | Alfred Jacob Miller: An Artist on the Oregon Trail. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 8/19/1981 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 8/26/1981 | Treatment | mounted |
| 10/1/1991 | Treatment | mounted |
Geographies
USA (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 11 5/8 x W: 9 1/16 in. (29.6 x 23 cm)
Credit Line
Commissioned by William T. Walters, 1858-1860
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.1940.31
