IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
Charles Loring Elliott, 12 Oct 1812 - 25 Aug 1868
Sitter
Thomas Loraine McKenney, 21 Mar 1785 - 20 Feb 1859
Date
1856
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Frame: 77.5 x 64.8cm (30 1/2 x 25 1/2")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie
Thomas Loraine McKenney: Male
Thomas Loraine McKenney: Politics and Government
Thomas Loraine McKenney: Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Anthropologist\Ethnologist
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2011.62
Exhibition Label
Born Hopewell, Maryland
Thomas L. McKenney implemented early governmental policies affecting Native Americans as superintendent of Indian trade (1816–22) and founding superintendent of Indian affairs (1824–30). While in office, McKenney commissioned paintings of Native diplomats by portraitist Charles Bird King. This effort eventually led him to compile the three-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836–44), which features lithographs of King’s portraits accompanied by biographical sketches by McKenney and his collaborator, James Hall.
Despite his interest in the history of Native Americans, McKenney sought for them to assimilate into Euro-American culture through Christian education. He also helped secure the passage of the Indian Civilization Fund Act (1819) and, more ominously, the Indian Removal Act (1830), which confiscated Indian lands and forced Indigenous nations to relocate west of the Mississippi. When McKenney blamed President Andrew Jackson for the brutality of the Trail of Tears, Jackson fired him for insubordination.
Nacido en Hopewell, Maryland
Como superintendente de Comercio Indígena (1816-22) y primer superintendente de Asuntos Indígenas (1824-30), Thomas L. McKenney implantó varias de las primeras políticas gubernamentales que afectaron a los nativos americanos. Durante su mandato, McKenney encargó pinturas de diplomáticos nativos al retratista Charles Bird King. Esta gestión lo motivó luego a compilar los tres volúmenes de la Historia de las tribus indígenas de Norteamérica (1836–44), con litografías de los retratos de King y notas biográficas escritas por él y su colaborador James Hall.
Pese a su interés en la historia de los nativos americanos, McKenney deseaba asimilarlos a la cultura euroamericana mediante la educación cristiana. También alentó la aprobación de la Ley del Fondo para la Civilización de los Indios (1819) y luego la horrible Ley de Traslado Forzoso de los Indios (1830), que confiscó tierras de las naciones indígenas y las forzó a reubicarse al oeste del Misisipi. Cuando McKenney culpó al presidente Andrew Jackson por la crueldad del llamado Sendero de Lágrimas, este lo despidió por insubordinación.
Provenance
James C. McGuire; bequest to Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1888; deaccessioned 2010 and sold (Christie’s 31 August-1 September 2010, lot 18); purchased NPG
