McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - ESH-TA-HUM-LEAH. A SIOUX CHIEF, from History of the Indian Tribes of North - ca. 1838 - T-Shirt

This design is a hand-colored lithographic portrait of Esh-ta-hum-leah, a Sioux chief, shown as a head-and-shoulders bust in profile and three-quarter view.

Visual Elements & Composition

Warm cream dominates the plate, with sepia brown carrying the shadows of the face and figure. Small touches of terracotta red and black pick out detail, while ivory white lightens the highlights. The subject sits within a vertical rectangular plate, with two feathers rising from his hair, braided hair falling at the side, and a draped blanket across the shoulders. The name ESH-TA-HUM-LEAH and the caption A SIOUX CHIEF. appear as printed text on the plate, along with the publisher line, "Published by F. W. Greenough, Philad'a."

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait comes from History of the Indian Tribes of North America, the series by Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall, and it records a leader who visited Washington, D.C. for treaty negotiations. The feathers, braids and blanket present the sitter in his own dress, while the formal bust framing treats him with the dignity of a sitter for a state record. The plate reflects the 1830s, when federal and tribal relations were shaped by diplomacy and the push for western expansion. It stands as a cornerstone of nineteenth-century American lithography, made by a team of artists and printers at a time when many of the original oil paintings were later lost in the Smithsonian fire of 1865.