McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - OPOTHLE YOHOLO. A CREEK CHIEF., from History of the Indian Tribes of North - ca. 1837 - T-Shirt

This is a formal hand-colored lithographic portrait of Opothle Yoholo, a Creek chief, rendered as a bust-length likeness drawn from life in the late 1830s.

Visual Elements & Composition

The portrait centres a single figure, shown in profile-leaning three-quarter view against a plain, uncluttered ground. The eye goes straight to the face and the head-dress, with the rest of the composition kept deliberately quiet. Lithographic tone builds the features through fine shading, and the printed caption beneath names the sitter and the source work.

Meaning & Symbolism

Opothle Yoholo was an influential Creek leader who worked through the political pressures of the early nineteenth century, including the forced removal era of the 1830s. The portrait was published in Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, a project that set out to record the likenesses of Native dignitaries who visited Washington, D.C. The image therefore stands as a record of one leader's presence and of the diplomacy between Indigenous nations and the United States government.

Carried Onto a Tee

A portrait built on a plain ground and a single central figure suits a chest-level print, where the face sits in view at a glance and the caption frames the subject. The design is composed to be read up close, so the detail of the face and the printed title remain legible wherever the shirt is worn.