Indian Courting 1849 - 1855

drawing, watercolor

drawing

toned paper

charcoal drawing

possibly oil pastel

oil painting

watercolor

coffee painting

underpainting

united-states

watercolour illustration

surrealist

watercolor

warm toned green

"Indian Courting" is a watercolor on paper artwork created between 1849 and 1855 by Seth Eastman, an artist and military officer. The artwork depicts a Native American man playing a flute while seated in front of a teepee, while a woman stands in the background. Eastman's detailed depictions of Native American life and customs provide a glimpse into the culture and traditions of the Indigenous people of the United States during the 19th century. The Minneapolis Institute of Art houses this artwork.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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U.S. Army Captain Seth Eastman was a trained artist who served twice on the frontier at Minnesota’s Fort Snelling, from 1830 to 1832 and again from 1841 to 1848. His extensive firsthand, peaceful encounters with Native Americans gave him extraordinary opportunities to observe their customs and practices, which he documented in his art. Most of the 35 works on paper by Eastman in Mia's collection relate to an assignment to illustrate a massive survey of Native culture by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, but several watercolors illustrate the writings of Eastman’s second wife, Mary Henderson Eastman. Often these were interpretations of Native stories she collected during her seven-year stay at Fort Snelling. “Indian Courting” was reproduced in an 1852 publication called “The Iris,” along with Mary’s poem.