Young Chief, Cayuse Indian 1891 - 1906

This bronze medallion of a Young Chief, Cayuse Indian, was created in 1891 by Olin Levi Warner. The circular format and the bas-relief are typical of the tradition of medals, a form rooted in antiquity, and revived in the Renaissance. But Warner has used this established vocabulary to make a portrait of a Native American, which gives the object a specific, historical resonance. Consider the labor involved in creating this portrait. First, Warner would have had to meet and sketch his subject, then model the design in clay or wax. This model would then be cast in bronze, a process involving a foundry and skilled metalworkers. The final result is a striking image, but it also speaks to the fraught historical context of its making – a collision between the established traditions of European art and the realities of a changing America. It reminds us that all artworks are made of materials, processes, and people.