A Shoshone Indian and His Pet Horse

  • Miller has intensified the relationship between man and animal in this painting, with the man leaning his head against the horse’s head. He has added depth to the composition by placing the teepee further behind the man and horse and by the addition of a landscape in the lower left corner. He has also added a campfire in front of the open teepee with Indians smoking pipes rather than making bows and arrows, and a person mounted on what appears to be a mule standing at the opening of the teepee. The Indian seated next to the horse has a full quiver of arrows leaning against his leg.

    Ron Tyler

    Artist
    Alfred Jacob Miller
    Date
    ca. 1845 – 1847
    Catalogue Number
    420A
    Medium
    Oil on Canvas
    Dimensions
    20 x 26 (50.8 x 66.0 cm)
    Accession Number
    BCLM-MA.2113
    Subjects
    Indians, Shoshone Indians

    The artist; [?]; Dr. Thomas Edmondson, 1847; by descent to his granddaughters, the Misses Hough, Baltimore, MD; The Peale Museum, Baltimore, MD; present owner