Black Hawk
Lithograph, 1840 — Frame: 12 x 9¼ inches; sight: 6¼ x 3⅝ inches
 
A lithographic portrait of Black Hawk after a design by John T. Bowen, reflecting early American efforts to disseminate the likenesses of prominent Native leaders through widely circulated prints. The composition belongs to the expanding nineteenth-century visual record of Native American figures produced during the era of western expansion and frontier conflict.
 
Black Hawk, a principal leader of the Sauk, became nationally known through the Black Hawk War of 1832, a conflict rooted in disputes over land, sovereignty, and forced removal in the Old Northwest. Portraits of Black Hawk circulated widely in the decades following the war, shaping his enduring place within the visual and historical narrative of nineteenth-century America.
 
Condition: Very fine, with a light stain at the upper left.