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English or European

Native American Sachem, ca. 1700

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

English

Title

Native American Sachem

Year

ca. 1700

Medium

Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • oil paint

Supports

  • canvas

Dimensions

84.1 x 76.5 cm (33 1/8 x 30 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Unsigned

Type

  • Paintings

Credit

Gift of Mr. Robert Winthrop

Object Number

48.246

Projects & Publications

Publications

Kunneepaumwuw ut Nahhiggananēuck aukéashut; You are standing on Narragansett lands

Manual / Issue 12

On Further Review
Read Online

Fashion History

A Global View

Ninigret, Sachem of the Niantics and Narragansetts

Diplomacy, War, and the Balance of Power in the Seventeenth-Century New England and Indian Country

Before the Revolution

America's Ancient Pasts

Selection VII

American Painting from the Museum's Collection, c.1800-1930

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Raid the Icebox Now with Nicole Eisenman

November 1, 2019 - May 1, 2021

Making It In America

October 11, 2013 - February 9, 2014

For decades, this painting of a Native American sachem (chief or leader) was misidentified as a portrait of Niantic leader Ninigret II; recent scholarship indicates that the subject may be Robin Cassacinamon, an influential Pequot leader. Cassacinamon was known to have been a friend of the Winthrop family of Connecticut, through whom this painting descended. The tribe originally occupied the basin of the Pequot River (now Connecticut’s Thames River), but the artist generalizes the setting in an idyllic manner. The stylization of the landscape, along with classical pose of the sachem, suggests that the artist, although nominally trained, was familiar with European art.

An American Idyll

April 6, 2007 - January 6, 2008

American Painting and Sculpture from the Permanent Collection

June 26, 1987 - January 3, 1988

Cabinetmakers and Collectors

October 3, 1986 - March 1, 1987

A Case for Boxes

October 16 - November 16, 1980

Selection VII

March 31 - May 8, 1977

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Native American Sachem with the accession number of 48.246. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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