The Indian Tribes of North America portrait collection is on permanent exhibit at the Thurgood Marshall State Law Library. The Library's Special Collections Room is open to the public by appointment. To schedule an appointment, call us at 410-260-1430 or email [email protected].
History | The Project | Library Acquisition and Revitalization | View the Prints
History
The History of the Indian Tribes of North America is a three-volume collection of Native American biographies with lithograph portraits, published from 1836 to 1844 by Thomas McKenney and James Hall. Most portraits were originally oil paintings by Charles Bird King. Numbered among King's sitters were Sequoyah, Red Jacket, Major Ridge, Cornplanter, and Osceola.
Unfortunately, in 1865, a fire at the Smithsonian castle destroyed 295 of these portraits, leaving only 5 rescued.
The Project
Thomas McKenney
Thomas McKenney, U.S. Superintendent of Indian Trade (1824-1830), commissioned Charles Bird King to paint portraits of American Indians visiting Washington, D.C. King continued this work until 1837. Other commissioned painters included James Otto Lewis, Peter Rindisbacher, and Henry Inman.
James Hall
James Hall, a judge and Illinois State Treasurer, was commissioned by Thomas McKenney to write the biographies for "The Indian Tribes of North America." Without the promised source material from McKenney, Hall spent eight years researching the subjects, having received little more than their names.
Library Acquisition and Revitalization
The Library owns two of the three volumes of the McKenney set. The books were purchased by the State Law Library’s first State Librarian, David Ridgely.
The prints were disbound and conserved by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, where they were placed in acid-free matting. The accompanying text pages are stored in folders in archival boxes in the Special Collections Room (SCR). CCAHA also restored the oxidized white lead paint highlights, returning them to their original white.
View the Prints
Currently on Exhibit:
Previous Exhibits: