Sir William Drummond Stewart Meeting Indian Chief

  • This painting was completed either in Baltimore or in Scotland after the 1837 trip west. It was hung at Murthly Castle to remind Stewart of a most joyous moment in the journey, the day the traveling party arrived at the rendezvous. Miller’s later versions of this work present trappers greeting the Scotsman, but this one, painted especially for Stewart, shows two Indians instead. This may have been because Stewart’s favorite part of the Wind River gathering was the Indians rather than the Anglo mountain men. He saw himself as an exemplar of native sentiment and heritage. The trappers were the commercial reason for attending the rendezvous; the Indians were his spiritual reason.

    Peter H. Hassrick   

    Artist
    Alfred Jacob Miller
    Date
    1839 – 1841
    Catalogue Number
    169A
    Medium
    Oil on Canvas
    Dimensions
    33 x 42 (83.8 x 106.7 cm)
    Accession Number
    0126.738
    Subjects
    Indians, Rendezvous of 1837, Snake Indians, Trappers, William Drummond Stewart, Wind River Mountains

    The artist; Sir William Drummond Stewart, 1839; Frank Nichols; [Chapman’s, Edinburgh, 1871]; [?]; Thomas Gilcrease, Tulsa, OK; present owner by gift