McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - NAH-ET-LUC-HOPIE., from History of the Indian Tribes of North America - ca. 1843 - T-Shirt

This design reproduces a hand-colored lithographic portrait of Nah-Et-Luc-Hopie, a Native American leader whose likeness was recorded in the nineteenth century.

Visual Elements & Composition

The image centres on a single sitter rendered as a formal portrait. The printed linework sets the features and the hand-applied colour brings warmth to skin, clothing and details. Nothing competes with the face, so the eye settles on the individual and returns to him.

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait comes from History of the Indian Tribes of North America, the multi-volume work published by Thomas McKenney and James Hall between 1836 and 1844. The plates were derived from oil paintings commissioned for the War Department's Indian Gallery, primarily by Charles Bird King. McKenney, then Superintendent of Indian Trade and later the first head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, set out to preserve the likenesses of tribal representatives who met with the federal government during treaty negotiations and westward expansion. The work is both an archive and a record shaped by the policies of its time, which is what gives it its weight.

On the Tee

A portrait on a tee is seen at close range and changes with every movement of the wearer. The figure sits on the chest, where it is read in passing and up close, so the detail of the hand-colored plate is part of the experience. Wearing it keeps this historical record in daily view.