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Artist
Thomas Hicks, 18 Oct 1823 - 8 Oct 1890
Copy after
Robert Walter Weir, 18 Jun 1803 - 1 May 1889
Sitter
Red Jacket, c. 1758 - 20 Jan 1830
Date
1868
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 81.3 x 55.9cm (32 x 22")
Frame: 113 x 82.6 x 10.2cm (44 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 4")
Topic
Exterior
Red Jacket: Male
Red Jacket: Native American\Native American orator
Red Jacket: Native American\Native American leader\Chief
Red Jacket: Native American\Native American diplomat
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2002.69
Exhibition Label
Born Canoga, New York
In the American Revolution, Onondowahgah (Seneca) chief Sagoyewatha fought for the British, who gave him the name “Red Jacket” because he wore their red coat. He switched loyalties in the War of 1812, convincing members of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy in New York to fight on the U.S. side. Although in his sixties, he fought bravely at the battles of Fort George (1813) and Chippawa (1814). Appalled by heavy casualties among his own warriors as well as Haudenosaunee from Canada who fought with the British, Sagoyewatha persuaded the Native Americans on both sides to withdraw from the conflict.
This painting is one of four copies of a portrait that Robert Walter Weir made during Sagoyewatha’s visit to New York City in 1828. Wearing a costume he considered “appropriate to his character” and a peace medal presented to him by George Washington, he stands before a backdrop of Niagara Falls beneath a stormy sky.
Nacido en Canoga, Nueva York
En la Guerra de Independencia, el jefe onondaga (seneca) Sagoyewatha luchó del lado de los británicos, que lo llamaron “Red Jacket” porque llevaba la casaca roja de su ejército. En la Guerra de 1812 cambió de bando y convenció a los miembros de la Confederación Haudenosaunee (Iroquesa) en Nueva York de apoyar a EE.UU. Aunque ya sexagenario, luchó valerosamente en las batallas del Fuerte George (1813) y Chippawa (1814). Horrorizado por las bajas tanto entre sus guerreros como entre los haudenosaunee de Canadá, que apoyaban a los británicos, Sagoyewatha convenció a ambos bandos de retirarse del conflicto.
Esta pintura es una de cuatro copias de un retrato que hizo Robert Walter Weir durante la visita de Sagoyewatha a Nueva York en 1828. Ataviado como creía “apropiado para su condición” y con la medalla de la paz que recibió de George Washington, aparece ante un telón con las cataratas del Niágara bajo un cielo tempestuoso.
Provenance
(M. Knoedler & Co., New York) 1973. (Joan Michelman Ltd., New York, 1977). (Sotheby’s, New York, 22 May 2002, lot 172); purchased NPG 2002
