Object Details
- Artist
- William Notman, 8 Mar 1826 - 25 Nov 1891
- Sitter
- Sitting Bull, c. 1831 - 15 Dec 1890
- Exhibition Label
- Born near Miles City, Montana
- In the 1860s and 1870s, the spiritual leader Tatanka Iyotanka, known as Sitting Bull, and others led major Sioux factions to confront federal forces displacing them on the Great Plains. Sitting Bull united the Sioux nation during its struggle for survival on the Great Plains. As a spiritual leader, Sitting Bull did not participate in armed resistance, but after the Battle of Little Big Horn (1876), he led survivors into Canada, surrendering in 1881.
- Sitting Bull sat for this portrait while he was performing in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. He reserved exclusive rights to his photograph, selling his portraits for one dollar each. In 1889, when the Ghost Dance religious movement prophesied the advent of a Native messiah who would restore American Indians and their traditions, federal officials feared that Sitting Bull would be perceived as this savior. Seized by Indian police and soldiers, he died during an attempted rescue in 1890.
- Nacido cerca de Miles City, Montana
- En las décadas de 1860 y 1870, el líder espiritual Tatanka Iyotanka, conocido como Toro Sentado, dirigió junto a otros a grandes facciones sioux en confrontaciones con las fuerzas federales que los desplazaban en las Grandes Llanuras. Toro Sentado unificó a la nación sioux en su lucha por sobrevivir en la región. Siendo un líder espiritual, no participó en la lucha armada, pero tras la Batalla de Little Big Horn (1876) guio a los sobrevivientes hacia Canadá, aunque tuvo que rendirse en 1881.
- Toro Sentado posó para este retrato cuando actuaba en el espectáculo El Salvaje Oeste de Buffalo Bill. Se reservó los derechos de la foto y vendía las copias por un dólar. En 1889, cuando el movimiento religioso Danza de los Espíritus profetizó la venida de un mesías nativo que rescataría a los indígenas y sus tradiciones, los oficiales federales temieron que se percibiera a Toro Sentado como el salvador. Capturado por policías indígenas y soldados, murió durante un fallido rescate en 1890.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- c. 1885
- Object number
- S/NPG.77.184
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Albumen silver print
- Dimensions
- Image/Sheet: 13.7 × 10.3 cm (5 3/8 × 4 1/16")
- Mount: 16.6 × 10.9 cm (6 9/16 × 4 5/16")
- Mat: 45.7 × 35.6 cm (18 × 14")
- Place
- Canada\Québec\Montréal, Île de\Montréal
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Sash
- Photographic format\Cabinet card
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Ascot
- Personal Attribute\Hairstyle\Braided hair
- Sitting Bull: Male
- Sitting Bull: Military and Intelligence\Native American warrior
- Sitting Bull: Politics and Government\Native American leader\Chief
- Sitting Bull: Politics and Government\Native American leader\Medicine man
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_S_NPG.77.184
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4c5e62faf-eb37-44e3-bab8-daecb62d85a9
