Artwork
Indian Figure in Profile
Indian Figure in Profile is a watercolor work on paper by the American Folk Art artist Henry Kirke Brown. It dates from 1851 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A man in a feathered headdress stands sideways, holding a bow and arrow. His face is sharp, his body still.
This watercolor was made in 1851, when most artists showed Native Americans as symbols, not people. Brown gave this man dignity, his quiet gaze feels real, not staged.
If you like this, look up the subject men for more portraits that treat people with respect.
Subject & Meaning
The watercolor portrays a Native American man shown in profile, a compositional choice that emphasizes the silhouette of his features and the curve of his bow.
The watercolor portrays a Native American man shown in profile, a compositional choice that emphasizes the silhouette of his features and the curve of his bow. He is equipped with a bow and arrow, identifying him as a hunter or warrior and situating the figure within the iconographic tradition of the armed Indigenous male. Rendered in 1851 by Henry Kirke Brown, the work belongs to the genre of portraiture and reflects the mid-nineteenth-century American interest in documenting Native peoples, often through a single representative figure rather than a named individual sitter.
The profile pose and the inclusion of traditional weaponry together convey a sense of stoic dignity while also framing the subject through the visual conventions of ethnographic observation common to the period.
Technique & Style
Created in 1851, this work by Henry Kirke Brown is executed in watercolor and graphite. The artist applied these media onto a support of thin, off-white bristol board that features gilt edges. Stylistically, the piece functions as a portrait depicting a Native American man holding a bow and arrow.
The combination of graphite underdrawing with watercolor washes on a prepared board reflects a specific approach to portraiture within the artist's oeuvre during the mid-nineteenth century.
History & Provenance
Henry Kirke Brown created Indian Figure in Profile in 1851, as established by both the artist’s inscription and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s cataloguing. The work was executed in watercolor and graphite on thin off-white gilt-edged bristol board, reflecting Brown’s engagement with portraiture during this period.
No direct commissioning patron or early private owner is documented in the available sources. The watercolor entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has remained since its acquisition. The museum’s accession number for the piece is 1990.46.2.
Henry Kirke Brown's Indian Figure in Profile is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, created in 1851, was accessioned by the museum in 1990 under the inventory number 1990.46.2. It is currently classified within The American Wing of the institution. No specific exhibition history is provided in the available records.
Legacy
The work continues to be cited as an early example of American portraiture that incorporates Indigenous subjects into a Western artistic format. It is referenced in scholarship on 19th‑century representations of Native peoples and is often discussed in museum narratives of American art development. The piece is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection and is regularly included in exhibitions examining colonial-era portraiture and cross‑cultural encounters.
Overview
Created in 1851, Indian Figure in Profile is a watercolor and graphite drawing on a thin, off‑white gilt‑edged Bristol board. The work is attributed to Henry Kirke Brown, an artist better remembered for his sculpture. Measuring modestly, the piece belongs to the American Wing’s collection of mid‑nineteenth‑century folk art, a genre that often recorded everyday subjects with a straightforward visual approach.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henry Kirke Brown (February 24, 1814 in Leyden, Massachusetts – July 10, 1886 in Newburgh, New York) was an American sculptor.
