McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - KEE-SHES-WA, A FOX CHIEF., from History of the Indian Tribes of North America - ca. 1838 - T-Shirt

This hand-coloured lithographic portrait shows Kee-Shes-Wa, a Fox chief, framed in a bust vignette on a cream sheet of paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

The cream paper fills most of the image, giving the portrait a quiet, archival tone. The chief's face and shoulders sit at the centre in warm skin tan, with the rest of the sheet kept open and unadorned. Steel blue, brick red and black appear in small, deliberate areas: the feather plumes of the headdress, the ornaments set among them, and the dark strap of the gorget. A blue beaded blanket with white fur trim anchors the lower edge. The printed caption, KEE-SHES-WA and A FOX CHIEF, runs along the sheet and names the sitter directly.

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait belongs to History of the Indian Tribes of North America, a project led by Thomas McKenney, Superintendent of Indian Trade, and James Hall, a lawyer and writer. The series was drawn from original paintings collected by the Indian Department in Washington, D.C. Kee-Shes-Wa represented the Meskwaki, or Fox, people in diplomatic dealings with the federal government. The feathered headdress, beaded blanket and brass gorget are the marks of his rank and standing, recorded at a time when the nations he spoke for were undergoing profound change. The authors' aim was to preserve these leaders' likenesses and their communities' heritage as a lasting record.

Cut for the Chest and the Eye

A bust portrait suits a tee well: the figure rests on the chest and the eye reads the face first, the way it would a formal sitting. The caption and the framed vignette stay in view as the wearer moves, so the sheet of paper and its ornaments carry across the shirt rather than wrapping around it. The design is a faithful portrait, and the chief's composed expression is what this shirt puts forward.