National Anthropological Archives

Photographs and microfilm of Paul Kane paintings and sketchbook, undated

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.4428
Creators:
Kane, Paul, 1810-1871
Dates:
undated
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
1 Copy negative
acetate
1 Microfilm reel
84 Copy prints
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Photographs of sketches and paintings made by Paul Kane in 1845-1856, including portraits and scenes of camps, dances, and a buffalo hunt, relating to the Ojibwa, Ottawa, Menominee, Potawatomi, Eastern Sioux, Cree, Assiniboine, Chinook, Cowlitz, Clallam, Cowichan and Babine. The sketchbook, of which the microfilm may be incomplete, includes many of the same subjects as the paintings, as well as artifacts, scenic views and scenes from Kane's studies in Europe. The collection also includes a photostat of the catalog published in Kane's "Wanderings of an Artist..." and a typed list of the captions for the sketches.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Paul Kane (1810-1871) was born in Ireland and emigrated to Toronto (then called York) when he was nine. He worked as a decorative furniture painter before turning to portrait painting and studying art at centers throughout Europe. Inspired by George Catlin's paintings documenting the Plains Indians, Kane set out on an expedition from Fort William (Thunder Bay) to Fort Vancouver to document the peoples of the Northwest. From 1845-1848, Kane traveled amongst tribes of the Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere, sketching and describing his experiences in a journal. When Kane returned to Toronto, he published "Wanderings of an artist among the Indians of North America" (1859) and made over 100 paintings based on his journal sketches, commissioned by George William Allen. The entire Allen collection was later purchased by Sir Edmund Osler and donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Existence and Location of Originals note
Original paintings and sketchbook held by the Royal Ontario Museum.
Custodial History note
Purchased from the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto in October 1954.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Restrictions: Publication rights granted to Bureau of American Ethnology or Smithsonian Institution staff members for use of small selections of the material; collection not to be published in its entirety. Royal Ontario Museum wishes to be informed when and where illustrations are used. Persons outside the Smithsonian Institution must obtain publication permission as well as photographic prints from the Royal Ontario Museum; the Smithsonian may not make copy negatives for the general distribution of prints.
Preferred Citation note
Photo Lot 4428, Photographs and microfilm of Paul Kane paintings and sketchbook, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
Photographs previously filed in Photo Lot 4427, have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 4428. These are photographs of paintings by Kane in the Royal Ontario Museum and were donated with the photographs of sketches already filed in this collection.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Additional photographs of paintings by Kane held in National Anthropological Archives MS 4642 and the BAE historical negatives.

Contained in

Contained in
Numbered manuscripts 1850s-1980s (some earlier)

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 4428
,
NAA Photo Lot 4427

Reproduction Note

Reproduction Note
Copy prints and microfilm made by the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology.

Other Finding Aids note

Other Finding Aids note
Inventory of paintings available in repository.

Addl. KW Subj

Addl. KW Subj
Ottawa (Odawa)
Clallam (Klallam)
Assiniboin; Assiniboine
Sioux (Eastern)
Chippewa
Babine


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Menominee (Menomini) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Odawa (Ottawa) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sioux Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Potawatomi Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Northeast Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cree Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Assiniboine (Stoney) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dance Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Camps Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hunting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American bison Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cowichan Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Klallam (Clallam) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cowlitz Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chinook Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Subarctic Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
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Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu