Beschreibung:

Lot of 10 silver gelatin photographs of Oglala Sioux chiefs and their families at the Pine Ridge Agency, ca late 1880s-1890s. Presented in two mats with five photographs each, calligraphy beneath each picture identifies the subjects, left to right, “Afraid of a Hawk, Jack Sits Poor & Family, Chief Kills a Hundred, Afraid of a Hawk, High Beam” and “Susie Sits Poor, / Julia Red Hawk; Chief Long Dog, / Indian Scout 1877-1887; Afraid of a Hawk; Lone Dog; Leo Pretty Weasel”. 5 x 7 in. (each photograph); 31.75 x 10.8 in. (mat). Though the photographer is unknown, they captured elegant portraits and dynamic posed shots of several Oglala Lakota chiefs and their family members. Afraid of Hawk appears three times, once in full-length profile portrait wearing a feathered headdress, several necklaces, holding a pipe with a beaded tobacco bag. In a second portrait, he faces the camera, sans headdress, still holding the highly decorative bag and pipe with his other adornments fully visible. In the third, he is again wearing a feathered headdress, but kneeling while aiming his 94 Winchester Carbine. A posed but disarmingly direct portrait of Kills a Hundred shows him facing the camera holding his Winchester Model 1886 in one hand and a pipe in the other. Kills a Hundred, Afraid of (a) Hawk, Long Dog, and Lone Dog all appear in the 1886 and later census rolls of the Pine Ridge Agency. Kills a Hundred appears again in the 1890 census, but not in the 1895 or any subsequent rolls, though the other men continue to appear into the early 20th century. Additionally, several men are posed with a Winchester 94, suggesting a date around 1894 or 1895. Condition: One mat shows toning to upper edge with some chipping. Breaks in lower mat edges.