Creative Commons License
Cavalcade
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Extracts from Alfred Jacob Miller’s original text, which accompanied his images of Native Americans, are included below for reference. These words, which shaped how Miller’s contemporaries viewed the watercolors, reveal the racism and sexism often embedded in 19th-century exploration and colonization of the western part of what is today the United States.
After everyone had arrived at the rendezvous, the Snake Indians, led by Chief Ma-wo-ma, staged a grand entry in honor of Captain Stewart. "Some of the dresses were magnificent," Miller wrote as he recalled the parade, "and although vermillion was worth four dollars per oz., a lavish use of that article was exhibited on their bodies and faces." Miller's friend, the missionary William H. Gray, was otherwise impressed, noting that some of the marchers were naked or hardly clothed at all.
Miller worked his sketches into a large oil version of this scene (now in the collection of the Oklahoma Historical Society) after he returned to Baltimore in 1839. He shipped it to New York for exhibition and transport to Liverpool. It was shown at the Apollo Gallery as a sequel to his spring and summer exhibition that had already been shipped to Murthly. This small watercolor was a part of the commission that Miller received from William T. Walters.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
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. |
| 1988 | Alfred Jacob Miller: Maryland and the West. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Washington College, Chestertown; Frostburg State University, Frostburg; Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, Rockville. |
| 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 | cleaned; mounted |
| 12/1/1987 | Treatment | mounted; other |
| 6/1/1990 | Treatment | mounted; re-housed |
Geographies
USA (Place of Origin)
Measurements
10 7/8 x 14 15/16 in. (27.6 x 38 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.
37.1940.199
