Art Institute of Chicago

Head of an American Indian

Henry Kirke Brown

Date

Modeled 1848–49, cast 1849

Medium

Bronze on bronze plinth

Culture

United States

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Most mid-19th-century artists relied on romantic, often inaccurate conceptions of Native Americans, yet some, including Henry Kirke Brown, traveled west hoping to attain firsthand knowledge of their subjects. In September and October 1848, Brown journeyed to Michigan—then the American frontier—to create models of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in preparation for a sculpture commissioned by the American Art Union. The resulting miniature portrait bust reveals the artist’s careful attention to details of physiognomy and hair; the figure thus displays a sympathetic naturalism and commanding nobility of presence.

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