Drawings of Exploits in Battle
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.On each drawing, warrior Little Shield depicts himself riding into the action from the right, a conventional pictorial device. His horse is at full gallop, and he holds his arms outstretched. On six of the eight works, he brandishes a feathered shield.
These drawings represent the artist’s exploits in battle prior to 1868, and they were originally contained within a bound book with fifteen of his other works. Although horses and figures, in keeping with the earliest mode of pictorial representation, are elongated and highly simplified, they project a sense of energy and movement as well as the intensity of battle. Biographic drawings on paper represent a continuation of earlier narrative art painted on hide shirts and robes and depicted on rock formations over much of the American West.
Utes/Killed Heap Squaws and Papoos
In this drawing, the second in the series, Little Shield depicts himself charging into a Ute camp. The warriors emerge from their tipis and fire muskets, wounding him. He does not hold a weapon; his red, feathered shield protects him from death and brings victory over the Utes.
These drawings represent the artist’s exploits in battle prior to 1868, and they were originally contained within a bound book with fifteen of his other works. Although horses and figures, in keeping with the earliest mode of pictorial representation, are elongated and highly simplified, they project a sense of energy and movement as well as the intensity of battle. Biographic drawings on paper represent a continuation of earlier narrative art painted on hide shirts and robes and depicted on rock formations over much of the American West.
Utes/Killed Heap Squaws and Papoos
In this drawing, the second in the series, Little Shield depicts himself charging into a Ute camp. The warriors emerge from their tipis and fire muskets, wounding him. He does not hold a weapon; his red, feathered shield protects him from death and brings victory over the Utes.
Artwork Details
- Title: Drawings of Exploits in Battle
- Artist: Little Shield (Native American, Arapaho, active 19th century)
- Date: Before 1868
- Geography: United States, Colorado
- Culture: Arapaho
- Medium: Graphite and ink on paper
- Dimensions: Length: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
Width: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
4 drawings matted: 11 in. x 15 1/2 in. - Classification: Paper-Drawings
- Credit Line: St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri - St. Louis (1890.010)
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing