Mac-Cut-I-Mish-E-Ca-Cu-Cac or Black Hawk, a Celebrated Sac Chief
American Art
These lithographs are from the first published collection of portraits of Native Americans, The Aboriginal Port-Folio. The artist, James Otto Lewis, based his images on sketches he made in the 1820s while accompanying U.S. government officials to treaty councils with Native American chiefs throughout the Great Lakes region— then the country’s western frontier. Despite his somewhat awkward handling of the human figure, Lewis carefully documented the distinctive appearance, costume, and accessories of his sitters. The Port-Folio served both as a firsthand record of Native individuals and as an influential model for other artists. By the time these lithographs were issued, Congress had passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced Native Americans from their lands and resettled them farther west.
MEDIUM
Lithograph with watercolor on paper
DATES
print issued November 1835
DIMENSIONS
Sheet: 13 13/16 x 9 1/4 in. (35.1 x 23.5 cm)
SIGNATURE
Engraved below center of image: "Lehman & Duval Lith.rs"
INSCRIPTIONS
Engraved below image, in center: "MAC-CUT-I-MISH-E-CA-CU-CAC / or / BLACK HAWK / A Celebrated Sac Chief. / Painted from life by J. O. Lewis at Detroit 1833. / Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1856 by J. O. Lewis in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania."
ACCESSION NUMBER
X1042.147.9
CREDIT LINE
Brooklyn Museum Collection
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.