Banknote motifs: the number 5 and a portrait of Thayendanegea
Not on view
This portrait of the Mohawk chief Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) was created to adorn banknotes engraved by A. B. C. Durand & Co. Small proofs like this were used to design notes for individual banks (American paper currency was printed by various private companies until 1869 and standarized designs for notes introduced only in 1929). Political and military leaders were often portrayed, but the choice of Thayendanego is unusual since he fought for the British during the Revolutionary War. After 1781, he devoted himself to negotiating rights for his people and led 2,000 followers to establish the Six Nations Reserve in Upper Canada (now Brandtford, Ontario) in 1785. This engraved image reproduces a portrait made at Albany in 1806, one year before the sitter's death. Not expecting to be painted, Thayendangea arrived in a European-style suit and only agreed to sit when native attire was found.
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