James Otto Lewis (1799 - 1858)

Born 3 Feb 1799 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 2 Nov 1858 at age 59 in New York City, New York County, New York, United States

Biography

James Otto Lewis was an American artist who was noted for his portraits of Native Americans and other figures of the American frontier. ^[1]

The "Aboriginal Portfolio" is an early 19th century book of hand-colored lithographs of chiefs of Native American tribes. It represents the first important pictorial representation of Native American life.

It was published in Philadelphia in 1835-1836 by James Otto Lewis. Lewis, under commission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, attended Native American treaty ceremonies between 1825 and 1828 and drew pictures of the tribal chiefs attending those ceremonies. The majority of drawings were from following treaty ceremonies:

The Treaty of Prairie du Chien , signed in August, 1825 in Prairie du Chien, Michigan

Treaty with the Potawatomi, signed October 16, 1826 in Mississinewa, Indiana (see Treaty of Mississinewa)

Treaty with the Miami, signed October 23, 1826 in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Treaty with the Chippewa, etc., signed 1827 in Butte des Morts, Wisconsin

In addition to drawings of tribal chiefs, scenes of the Prairie du Chien and Butte des Morts treaty grounds were drawn, as well as a drawing of a Chippewa pipe dance and tomahawk dance.

Lewis also made a journey to Fond du Lac in the summer of 1846 and made drawings there.

The earliest painting included is dated 1823, and the latest 1833. None of the original paintings survive. Most paintings were sketched on location and finished in Detroit between 1827 and 1833.^[2]

Lewis' work is held in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

• Fact: Christening (28 Apr 1799) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• Fact: Residence (1850) New York City, New York County, New York, United States
• Fact: Residence (1855) E.D. 1, Ward 21, New York City, New York, New York, United States
• Fact: Burial (4 October 1858) Bronx, New York, United States

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Otto_Lewis
2. ↑ See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aboriginal_Port_Folio

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 03 November 2022, 22:49), entry for James Otto Lewis (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:9V1L-VBC ); contributed by various users.