Peahmuska, A Fox Chief (1785 - 1862)
Peahmuska, A Fox Chief

This portrait is one of several of Peahmuska painted by King. The first version was painted for the Indian Gallery compiled by Thomas L. McKenney, the first head of the governmental department, which would become the Bureau of Indian Affairs. McKenney originally commissioned the portrait when Peahmuska came to Washington, D.C., with a delegation of Fox in the summer of 1824. McKenney's Gallery was on exhibit in the Smithsonian in 1865 when a fire destroyed the collection. King's copies of his own paintings, such as this one, preserved some of the images.

1824, oil on wood panel
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art Gift of Harrison Eiteljorg, acc. 89.3.36

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