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Feel the passion of James Otto Lewis in our art prints.

Our art reproductions bring moments of comfort directly into your home.

Discover Artworks Now!
James Otto Lewis
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Museum Quality Art Prints
Customization Options Available

James Otto Lewis

    3rd of February 1799   -   November 2, 1858
Portrait painting   •   Wikipedia: James Otto Lewis

The time of the great discovery of the North American continent was actually long gone in the 19th century - it was more about the shift of the "frontier", the border area to the "Wild West", with: Gold Rush, expeditions to the West Coast, settler trails from the American East Coast to the "Wild West." And it was about the conquest and seizure of the Midwest, the inner space of today's USA and the frontier region to today's Canada.

In the midst of it as a kind of official painter of the U.S. campaign of conquest: James Otto Lewis (1799-1858), son of German emigrants. His father came from Crailsheim in Baden-Württemberg and had his name changed in America from "Ludwig" to "Lewis". James Otto Lewis was born in Philadelphia in the eastern United States and trained as an engraver, painter and draftsman. In 1819, he moved to the "Wild West" in Detroit. The American War of Independence had not been long in coming; by 1820, the new United States was gradually taking over the territories around the Great Lakes - from British troops and from Native Americans. The British retreated to Canada, and the "Indian tribes" were defeated in several campaigns. James Otto Lewis accompanied the "expeditions" to the "frontier" in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan and documented in his paintings surrender negotiations with the indigenous tribes, including the Sioux, Sauk, Potawatamie, Chippewa and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago). Beginning in 1823, he portrayed some of the leaders of the tribes on behalf of the American "Indian Bureau" and, in a few prints, other members, such as Ta-Ma-Kake-Toke ("The Woman Who Spoke First; a Chippeway Squaw (Mourning)"). In 1833 he portrayed Blackhawk, a famous Sauk chief, in Detroit dressed like a middle-class American in the distinguished skirt typical of the period.

In some respects, his portraits seem technically and artistically striking, awkward and childlike. Indigenous leaders are usually fancifully decked out, depicted with "war paint" and Europeanized facial features. Some of Lewis's portraits found their way into the Indian Affairs Office collection ("History of the Indian Tribes of North America"), and James Otto Lewis published his own lithograph collection of 72 color prints, "The Aboriginal Port Folio," in 1835/1836. They are one of the earliest documents of the Midwest's native peoples near the Great Lakes. For the U.S. identity that was just forming, the "Frontier," the stories of the conquest and settlement of the "Wild West" by settlers of diverse origins, form an important part. This includes the portrayal of indigenous culture: idealized, defeated, and disappearing. In the mid-19th century, people began to take more and more interest in their own origins and their own American land. Portraits such as those of James Otto Lewis and his contemporaries, the Americans George Catlin and Seth Eastman or the two Germans Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied and Karl Bodmer, as documents of the disappearing indigenous culture of Ur-America, as an image of one's own Americanization and as the first artistic expression of American identity, certainly corresponded to the taste of the times. James Otto Lewis returned to the East Coast and died impoverished and forgotten in New York State in 1858. The originals of his prints were destroyed in a fire in 1865.

James Otto Lewis

    3rd of February 1799   -   November 2, 1858
Portrait painting   •   Wikipedia: James Otto Lewis

The time of the great discovery of the North American continent was actually long gone in the 19th century - it was more about the shift of the "frontier", the border area to the "Wild West", with: Gold Rush, expeditions to the West Coast, settler trails from the American East Coast to the "Wild West." And it was about the conquest and seizure of the Midwest, the inner space of today's USA and the frontier region to today's Canada.

In the midst of it as a kind of official painter of the U.S. campaign of conquest: James Otto Lewis (1799-1858), son of German emigrants. His father came from Crailsheim in Baden-Württemberg and had his name changed in America from "Ludwig" to "Lewis". James Otto Lewis was born in Philadelphia in the eastern United States and trained as an engraver, painter and draftsman. In 1819, he moved to the "Wild West" in Detroit. The American War of Independence had not been long in coming; by 1820, the new United States was gradually taking over the territories around the Great Lakes - from British troops and from Native Americans. The British retreated to Canada, and the "Indian tribes" were defeated in several campaigns. James Otto Lewis accompanied the "expeditions" to the "frontier" in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan and documented in his paintings surrender negotiations with the indigenous tribes, including the Sioux, Sauk, Potawatamie, Chippewa and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago). Beginning in 1823, he portrayed some of the leaders of the tribes on behalf of the American "Indian Bureau" and, in a few prints, other members, such as Ta-Ma-Kake-Toke ("The Woman Who Spoke First; a Chippeway Squaw (Mourning)"). In 1833 he portrayed Blackhawk, a famous Sauk chief, in Detroit dressed like a middle-class American in the distinguished skirt typical of the period.

In some respects, his portraits seem technically and artistically striking, awkward and childlike. Indigenous leaders are usually fancifully decked out, depicted with "war paint" and Europeanized facial features. Some of Lewis's portraits found their way into the Indian Affairs Office collection ("History of the Indian Tribes of North America"), and James Otto Lewis published his own lithograph collection of 72 color prints, "The Aboriginal Port Folio," in 1835/1836. They are one of the earliest documents of the Midwest's native peoples near the Great Lakes. For the U.S. identity that was just forming, the "Frontier," the stories of the conquest and settlement of the "Wild West" by settlers of diverse origins, form an important part. This includes the portrayal of indigenous culture: idealized, defeated, and disappearing. In the mid-19th century, people began to take more and more interest in their own origins and their own American land. Portraits such as those of James Otto Lewis and his contemporaries, the Americans George Catlin and Seth Eastman or the two Germans Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied and Karl Bodmer, as documents of the disappearing indigenous culture of Ur-America, as an image of one's own Americanization and as the first artistic expression of American identity, certainly corresponded to the taste of the times. James Otto Lewis returned to the East Coast and died impoverished and forgotten in New York State in 1858. The originals of his prints were destroyed in a fire in 1865.

Artworks by James Otto Lewis

Artworks by James Otto Lewis

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
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James Otto Lewis
 
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James Otto Lewis
The Little Crow, a celebrated Si...
1825 | Unknown

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James Otto Lewis
Shin-ga-ba W'Ossin or 'Image Sto...
Undated | colour lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
View of the Great Treaty Held at...
Undated | colour engraving

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James Otto Lewis
Chippeway Mother and Child, 1826...
Undated | colour lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
Portrait of Me-No-Quet, 1827
1827 | oil on panel

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
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James Otto Lewis
Chippeway (Ojibwe) woman and child
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James Otto Lewis
Weesh-cub or the Sweet
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
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James Otto Lewis
Chippeway (Ojibwe) woman and child
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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
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James Otto Lewis
A celebrated Ottawa Chief
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
Wa-Em-Boesh-Kaa, a Chippeway Chi...
Undated | colour lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
View of the Great Treaty Held at...
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
View of the Great Treaty Held at...
1825 | engraving

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James Otto Lewis
Nah-shaw-a-gaa or The White Dogs...
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1827 | Unknown

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
Waa-top-e-not or the Eagles Bed
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
Wa-kaun or the Snake
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
Mish-sha-quat or the The Clear Sky
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
At-te-conse or the young rein deer
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
Waa-Na-Taa or the Foremost In Ba...
1835 | colour lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
A young Miami Chief
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
Undated | colour lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
 
1835 | lithograph

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James Otto Lewis
WAA-NA-TAA or the Foremost in Ba...
Undated |

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James Otto Lewis
THE LITTLE CROW, A Celebrated Si...
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James Otto Lewis
A Celebrated Ottowa Chief, from ...
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James Otto Lewis
PEN-NOW-WE-TA; A Miami Chief, fr...
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+43 4257 29415
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Mo-Do: 7:00 - 16:00 | Fr: 7:00 - 13:00

Do you have any questions?

Are you interested in an art print from our manufactory but still unsure? Do you need advice on choosing the medium or help with the order?

Our experts are happy to assist you.

+43 4257 29415
support@meisterdrucke.com
Mo-Do: 7:00 - 16:00 | Fr: 7:00 - 13:00


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