Chon-mon-i-case

Art Historical Context

**Chon-mon-i-case**, a striking 1838 lithographic print by Alfred M.y (active 1835–4), captures the dignified portrait of Shaumonek, a male Native American chief. Hoffy, a skilled Philadelphia-based lithographer, specialized in detailed reproductions that brought Indigenous leaders to wider audiences during a pivotal era of American expansion. This work, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection (gift of Betty A. Lloyd G. Scherm), exemplifies early 19th-century print, where lithography allowed for precise shading and mass dissemination of culturally significant images. The portr...