Síh-Sä, Mandan Man

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Síh-Sä, Mandan Man

Date

March 1834

Dimensions

12 5/16 × 9 1/2 in. (31.3 × 24.1 cm)

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.385

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

This young man, Síh-Sä ("Red Feather"), was raised by the factor at Fort Clark and was a permanent resident there, although he apparently had relatives in the village. He hunted meat for the people at the fort and took care of the horses. His portrait was painted in March of 1834. The blue beaded leggings he wears may be the ones he had recently purchased from a member of the Soldier Society and which he proudly showed to Maximilian along with several new ornaments. He took great care of his clothing, rubbing moist white clay into his buffalo robe to clean and brighten the skin. In this picture he carries a beautiful quiver, probably made of mountain lion hide and decorated with red cloth and white beads in what Maximilian described as typical Mandan fashion. There is one other sketch of Síh-Sä in the collection, too faint to reproduce and evidently a preliminary drawing for the finished watercolor shown here. Síh-Sä also appears in the same pose and dress in Tableau 27 of the aquatint atlas.

References in Journal

March 23, 1834

Labels:

genre, portrait , Fort Clark, North Dakota

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort Clark, North Dakota