"Wapella" by Charles Bird King

"Wapella" by Charles Bird King

C.1986

Colored Lithograph

Presenting an authoritative portrait of tribal leadership, this twentieth-century colored lithograph titled "Wapella" is modeled after an original nineteenth-century life portrait by artist Charles Bird King. The composition captures Wapella, the principal chief of the Musquakee (Fox) tribe, in a dignified half-length portrait facing slightly to the left. He is adorned in elaborate ceremonial regalia, highlighted by a dense necklace of grizzly bear claws and a heavy grizzly bear fur cape draped across his shoulders. A large, polished silver peace medal bearing an engraved profile profile rests prominently against his chest. His head is wrapped in a highly detailed, striped textile turban, which is crowned by an upright fan of vibrant, rust-colored deer tail hair topped with a solitary eagle feather. Beneath the cape, a garment with concentric bands of yellow, red, and green mimics the sweeping lines of his collar, all set against a clean, neutral background over crisp cursive title typography reading "Wapella". 

This composition belongs to a broader American historical record dating back to the federal treaty eras of the 1820s and 1830s, where Indigenous leaders and tribal delegates were visually documented during diplomatic missions to Washington, D.C.. Published in 1986 as part of a modern commemorative edition of the landmark book History of the Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas Loraine McKenney and James Hall, prints like this hold monumental historical importance because they serve as the primary surviving visual record of these pre-Civil War individuals. The original oil portrait archives, including those by Charles Bird King and the Western galleries of John Mix Stanley, were tragically destroyed in the catastrophic 1865 Smithsonian fire. As a result, these meticulously prepared volume reproductions stand as irreplaceable ethnographic artifacts, documenting traditional attire, customs, and political figures from a critical era of Native American history.

Dimensions: H 11 ¾”x 8 ½”W

Condition: In very good condition