Wa-baun-see - A Pottawatomie Chief

Art Historical Context

In the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, M. Hoffy's 1838 lithographic print *Wa-baun-see - A Pottawatomie* captures the dignified likeness of Wabaunsee, a prominent leader of the Potawatomi. Active from 1835 to 1864, Hoffy was a skilled Philadelphia-based lithographer renowned for his detailed portraits of Native American chiefs, often commissioned or drawn from life during a time of intense cultural exchange and upheaval in the American Midwest. The portrait depicts Wabaunsee formal attire, adorned with an epaulet suggesting military honors, a medal likely denoting alliances or treaties with U.S. authorities, and a book symbolizing literacy or diplomacy. Created amid the 1830s Indian Removal policies, this image reflects the era's complex negotiations between Native leaders and the expanding American nation, where chiefs like Wabaunsee navigated treaties amid forced relocations like the Potawatomi Trail of Death in 1838. As a print medium, Hoffy's work democratized access to such portraits through affordable reproductions, blending European portrait traditions with Indigenous regalia. Donated to the National Portrait Gallery by Betty A. and Lloyd G. Schermer, it offers visitors a poignant window into 19th-century Native American resilience and identity.