Karl Bodmer, (1809-1893), is among the most important 19th-century artists of the American West and Native Americans. Bodmer accompanied the German prince, Maximilian of Wied, on an expedition up the Missouri River in 1832. With Bodmer in charge of the pictorial documentary, Prince Maximilian, an experienced and respected traveler and naturalist, set out to put together as complete a study as possible of the western territories of the United States. The result was the publication of Maximilian's journals in successive German, French, and English editions between 1839 and 1844, and with it, a picture atlas of eighty-one aquatint engravings of Bodmer's watercolor paintings. The images presented the peoples of the Manadan, Cree, Sioux, Blackfoot, Minnataree, Assiniboin, and Gros Ventres tribes. The images are beautifully rendered landscapes, portraits, and scenes of Indian life which are now regarded as one of the most comprehensive and memorable visual surveys of the western territories ever made. Bodmer's original watercolors are in the permanent collection of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. These aquatints are the only Bodmer images available to collectors.

This aquatint (Vignette XXVI) is one of Bodmer's most famous images and is from his original watercolor painted on February 28, 1834. This is the only image Bodmer made of both himself and his sponsor, Prince Maximilian. The image depicts a friendly encounter between Bodmer (in the top hat), Maximilian, and the Hidatsa Indians outside Fort Clark, North Dakota where Bodmer spent the winter of 1833-1834. Engraved by Alex Manceau and published by Ackermann & Co. Sheet size is 24.9" x 17.5".

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Condition: A

A sharp impression on a sturdy sheet with very wide margins. There is a small stain in the bottom blank margin and soiling along the edges of the sheet.