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James Otto Lewis (February 3, 1799 – November 2, 1858) was an American
engraver and
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
who was noted for his
portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
s of
Native American leaders and other figures of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...
.
Lewis began his engraving career in Philadelphia about 1815.
From 1819 to at least 1834, Lewis worked in the west, what was then
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...
, including present-day states of Indiana and Wisconsin. For eleven years of that time, he was working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, then within the War Department, to make portraits of Native Americans. He published copies of his work in ''
The Aboriginal Port Folio'' in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, between 1835 and 1836.
Biography
Lewis was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, in 1799.
He grew up learning to draw, paint, and make engravings.
Fascinated by what he learned of the western territories, as a young man he went west in 1819 and began traveling with Gov.
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...
of the
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...
. From 1823 to 1834, Lewis worked for the U.S. Government to paint official portraits of Indians, in what was an effort to preserve a record of their leaders and what was believed to be a vanishing culture.
In this official role during the 1820s, Lewis attended numerous Indian treaties and ceremonies held in Indiana and Wisconsin, where he began to make portraits of many of the participants. In 1826
Thomas L. McKenney, who was superintendent of Indian Affairs, then in the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* Dep ...
, accompanied Gov. Cass on one of the official trips into this area.
He relied on Lewis as the artist to create a record of the trip.
McKenney published an official record of his expedition, ''Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes...'' (1827); it contained 29 engraved or illustrated images. Although Lewis is not credited on any of the plates, the majority of images appear to be by him: his work has been identified by both the many references to it in the text and by analysis of the style of these images.
During the 1827 trip which Lewis and Cass took to Lake Michigan to negotiate with the Winnebago and Chippewa tribes, the artist sketched 25 portraits at the treaty meetings at
Prairie du Chien
Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...
. Of the 80 plates published in his final ''Aboriginal Port Folia'' (1835-1836), 9 were sketched at
Fort Wayne (fort)
Fort Wayne was a series of three successive military log stockades existing between 1794 and 1819 in the Miami Indian village of Kekionga, on the portage between the St. Mary's and St. Joseph Rivers in northeastern Indiana, in what is now the ...
, in present-day Indiana; 13 at
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...
; 12 at
Fond du Lac, 12 from ''"Massinnewa"'' (from the 1826 expedition), and the remaining 3 at unidentified locations.
Lewis later returned to the East, publishing a book of his works in Philadelphia in 1835-1836. He died in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on November 2, 1858.
Major published works
Based on his drawings and paintings of treaty ceremonies between 1825 and 1828, Lewis published a collection, ''
The Aboriginal Port Folio'', in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
between 1835 and 1836. Lewis also contributed portraits to the ''
History of the Indian Tribes of North America
The ''History of the Indian Tribes of North America'' is a three-volume collection of Native American biographies and accompanying lithograph portraits, originally published in the United States from 1836 to 1844 by Thomas McKenney and James Hal ...
'' collection, prepared by Thomas L. McKenney's office, and published from 1823 to 1834. Although Lewis was not officially specifically credited for images in McKenney's ''Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes...'' (1827), the majority of the plates are believed to be his.
Legacy
Lewis's works are held in the collection of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, James Otto
1799 births
1858 deaths
19th-century American painters
19th-century American male artists
American male painters
Indiana Territory
Painters from Philadelphia
American frontier painters