Collection Highlights
"Why Don't You Speak for Yourself, John?"
Date:
Object Number:
PR.031.3
Medium:
Chromolithograph card
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) in Frontiersman's Regalia
Object Number:
1971.125
Date:
1806-1807
Medium:
Watercolor, black ink, and graphite with touches of red gouache on heavy paper, mounted on card
Dimensions:
Overall: 6 1/8 x 3 3/4 in. ( 15.6 x 9.5 cm )
mat: 14 x 11 in. ( 35.6 x 27.9 cm )
Marks:
inscription: upper, pencil: "Likeness of Capt. Meriwether Lewis 1806"
inscription: lower, brown ink: "Likeness of Capt. Meriwether Lewis the explorer who was Capt. --- explore the far West in 1803 by President Jefferson"
Inscriptions:
Collector's mark in black ink on verso: "R.W.T."; verso inscribed along upper edge in graphite: "...[illegible] Capt Meriwether Lewis"; at lower edge in brown ink: "Likeness of Capt Meriwether / Lewis the Explorer, who was sent with James Clark to explore the far west in 1802 / by President Jefferson"
Description:
Portrait
Gallery Label:
The subject was the noted explorer who, with William Clark of Louisville, Kentucky, embarked on the historic Lewis and Clark expedition which opened up a land route across the continent to the Pacific. Painted shortly after Lewis's return to Washington from his expedition, this watercolor depicts him in frontiersman's dress, wearing a fur cap, a tunic to the mid-thighs, tight buckskin breeches, and moccasins.
Credit Line:
Gift of the Heirs of Hall Park McCullough
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
