A member of the Blackfeet tribe, Chief Thundercloud served as a scout for the United States Army in several Indian wars. But he was best known as a model for works by such artists as Frederic Remington and John Singer Sargent. It was his profile that appeared on the last gold coins minted in this country.

The maker of this portrait of Thundercloud was miniaturist Eulabee Dix. The precise date of the piece is unknown, but it is thought that Dix may have painted it while studying at New York's Art Students League, where Thundercloud was for many years a regular model.