National Anthropological Archives

Guide to Book of drawings by an anonymous Kiowa artist, 1875

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.MS392725
Creators:
Hubbell, Henry Wilson, 1842-1917
Dates:
1875
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Volume
disbound; 11 drawings
graphite, colored pencil, and crayon
8.5 x 7 inches
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of a commercial notebook of ruled paper, now disbound, containing eleven (11) drawings by an unidentified Kiowa artist. Several of the drawings span two leaves. The drawings depict rituals associated with the sun dance; warfare; dancers; men seated in painted tipis; mounted warriors; and a train.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Brigadier General Henry W. Hubbell (1842-1917) was stationed at St. Augustine, Florida from October 26, 1873 to December 2, 1875. He was subsequently stationed at Ft. Sill, Indian Territory (Oklahoma) from August 16, 1875 to August 18, 1876. While at Ft. Marion, Hubbell served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Artillery.

Historical Note

Historical Note
Fort Marion, also known as Castillo de San Marco, is a stone fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two prisoners from the southern plains were incarcerated in the fort. Captain Richard Pratt supervised the prisoners during their incarceration at Fort Marion. The prisoners consisted of 27 Kiowas, 33 Cheyennes, 9 Comanches, 2 Arapahos, and a single Caddo. With the exception of one Cheyenne woman, all the prisoners were men. They had been accused of participating in the recent Red River War, earlier hostilities, or both. With the exception of the wife and daughter of one of the Comanche men, the prisoners' families were not allowed to accompany them to Fort Marion.

Administration

Custodial History
Evidence suggests that Hubbell acquired this set of drawings from a Kiowa prisoner at Ft. Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. A second book of drawings collected by General Hubbell was offered for sale by George Terasaki in the 1990s. It contains an inscription describing the incarceration of the southern plains prisoners at Ft. Marion and indicating that the images were drawn by one of the prisoners. This establishes that Hubbell visited Ft. Marion and obtained a set of drawings from one of the prisoners. Thus it seems likely that the collection of drawings at the NAA were also obtained at Ft. Marion, although they were not created by the same artist. However, a comparison of drawing of a train in MA 392725 and a drawing of a train in a book in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian (Collection #20-6236) suggest that these drawings were created by the same artist. As the latter set of drawings was collected at Ft. Marion, the results of this comparison seem to indicate that MS 392725 was also created there.
The drawings were donated to the Smithsonian Institution by General Hubbell's daughter Edith S. Hubbell of Warrenton, Virginia on October 5, 1954 (USNM accession number 203386). The drawings were transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives in 1969.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Preferred Citation
Book of drawings by an anonymous Kiowa artist (MS 392725), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
NAA MS 392725
USNM Accession 203386
OPPS NEG MNH 1269-K


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Works of art Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ledger drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kiowa Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
North America Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
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