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.
Texan Killed
The two rearing horses convey a clash between Little Shield and a Texan. Little Shield holds a bow and rides a green horse. The Texan wears a hat and carries a gun with a bayonet. Wavy marks represent reins and also function as spirit lines, linking Little Shield to sacred power and the enemy he battles.
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.
Texan Killed
The two rearing horses convey a clash between Little Shield and a Texan. Little Shield holds a bow and rides a green horse. The Texan wears a hat and carries a gun with a bayonet. Wavy marks represent reins and also function as spirit lines, linking Little Shield to sacred power and the enemy he battles.
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)
Mat: 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