George Winter (artist)
George Winter | |
---|---|
George Winter | |
Born |
Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England | June 10, 1810
Died |
February 1, 1876 65) Lafayette, Indiana | (aged
Nationality | American |
Known for | Painting |
Spouse(s) | Mary Jane Squier (1820–1899), married 1840 |
George Winter (1810 – 1876) was an English-born American artist who was noted for his portraits of Native Americans and other figures of the American frontier.[1]
Biography
Winter was born in Portsea, Portsmouth, England to a cultured family and lived in an art atmosphere from early childhood. After private instruction, he entered the Royal Academy, London, where he lived and worked for four years. In 1830 he moved to New York City and continued his studies at the National Academy of Design. In 1835 he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. On a trip to nearby Dayton, Ohio, he met Mary Jane Squier, whom he would marry in 1840. Hearing of the plight of northern Indiana's Potawatomi Indians, who were being removed to Kansas in what would later be called the "Potawatomi Trail of Death," Winter moved to Logansport, Indiana, in 1837 to document their culture. After 13 years in Logansport he moved to Lafayette, Indiana, where he lived until 1873, when he moved to California. In 1876 he returned to Lafayette, and soon after died suddenly while attending a meeting of railroad stockholders at Snyder's Opera House. He was buried in Lafayette's Greenbush Cemetery.
Significance of Winter's career
Winter's artistic work on the Indiana frontier was predated by Charles Alexandre Lesueur and Karl Bodmer. In a private letter Winter speaks of six paintings of the Tippecanoe battleground, noting that two of them had dimensions of 152 square feet (14.1 m2) each. He described the collection as being taken from different points of view and altogether conveying the idea of the battleground and of the “surrounding romantic country.” The most noteworthy and valuable work left by Winter was a collection of paintings that he had not sold. All came into the possession of Mrs. Cable Ball of Lafayette, who donated them to the Tippecanoe County Historical Association in 1986.
In addition to Winter’s paintings there is a large manuscript collection of Winter’s papers that has important historic value due to its intimate description of the Wabash Indians. Winter’s first-hand writings about the relocation of the Potawatomi and Miami tribes is of significant value. Winter is best known for his documentation of the life of Frances Slocum, a Quaker child who was abducted by Indians and who grew up to become the wife of an Indian chief.
Segments of the George Winter collection are now available online through a cooperative project of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association and Purdue University Libraries Archives and Special Collections.
Works
Oil Portraits
- Portrait of Albert Cole, c. 1840, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Portrait of Mary Galpin Cole, c. 1840, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Frances Slocum Portrait, oil painting, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
Oil Landscapes
- Potawatomi Camp Scene, Crooked Creek, 1837, oil painting, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Scene on the Wabash (near Pipe Creek), c. 1840, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Scene on the Wabash (alternate title, Indians along the Wabash), c. 1848, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Landscape near Lafayette, 1850-1876, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Nocturnal Landscape, after 1850, oil on canvas mounted to Masonite, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Spotted Faun, 1864, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Landscape with Indians, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Tipton Island Near Logansport, Indiana, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art
Watercolor Portraits
- Jim - God[f]roy, Indiana Indian (Godfroy, Jim, full-length portrait), 1837, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Kaw-Kawk-Kay, Indiana Potamatomi Tribal chief, 1837, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Wewissa, alternate title Wee-Wis-Saw, Indiana Potamatomi Indian, c. 1838, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Known as Mary Ann, daughter of Ben-Ache and wife of Pe-Ash-Wah, Indiana Indians, 1842, watercolor with ink on paper George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Miami Indian, called Ken-Tuck, Indiana Miami Indian, 1850, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Ben-Ache, alternate title Benache, Indiana Potamatomi Indian, c. 1860-1869, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Francis Godfroy, war-chief, Indiana Indian Tribal chief (Godfroy, Francis, 1788-1840), c. 1860-1876, watercolor portraits with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association full-length portrait
- Jim Godfroy, Indiana Indian (Godfroy, Jim), c. 1860-1876, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Mendicant Indians, Indiana Indians, 1860-1876, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Miami Indian no 21, Indiana Miami Indian, 1860-1876, watercolor on paper George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Miami Indian girl no 26, Indiana Miami Indian, 1860-1876, watercolor on paper George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Miss en nah go gwah, Indiana Potamatomi Indian (Miss-En-Nah-Go-Gwah), 1860-1876, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Mother of We-Wis-Sa, Indiana Indians, 1860-1876, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- D-Mouche-Kee-Kee-Awh, Indiana Potamatomi Indian (Slocum, Francis, 1773-1847), c. 1863-1871, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Frances Slocum and daughter, Indiana Indians, 1863-1871, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Yo-Ca-Top-Kone, 1863-1871, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Ash-Kum, Indiana Potamatomi Chief, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Sun-Go-Waw, Indiana Potamatomi Indian, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
Watercolor Landscapes
- Logansport Indiana, July 8, 1837, Indiana Indians, 1837, watercolor with ink on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Deaf Man's Village, Indiana Potamatomi village, c. 1860-1876, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Indian burial, Kee-waw-nay Village 1837, Indiana Indians, c. 1860-1876, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Nan-matches-sin-a-wa 1839, Chief Godfroy's home, Indiana Indians, 1860-1876, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Indian Burial Kee-Waw-Nay Village 1837, c. 1863-1871, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
- Lake Man-i-tou, Devil's Lake, watercolor on paper, George Winter Collection at Tippecanoe County Historical Association
References
Sources
- Kitty Dye, Meet George Winter: Pioneer Artist, Journalist, Entrepreneur, Port Clinton, OH: LeClere Publishing Company, 2001. ISBN 0-9702501-1-8
- Christian F. Feest and R. David Edmunds (authors); and Sarah E. Cooke and Rachel Ramadhyani (eds.), Indians and a Changing Frontier: The Art of George Winter, Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Historical Society, 1993. ISBN 0-87195-097-9
- The Journals and Indian Paintings of George Winter, 1837-1839, Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1948.
- The Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 1, Number 3, Third Quarter 1905
External links
- Tippecanoe County Historical Society: George Winter
- George Winter Images & Documents
- George Winter Exhibit (includes lesson plans)
- Search the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art for works by George Winter
- Entries from George Winter's journal
- George Winter at Find a Grave
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