Tlo-be-nel-ly
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Victor Justice Evans
Accession Number
1985.66.362,069
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Elbridge Ayer Burbank wanted to portray as many American Indians as possible because he considered their very survival to be threatened. By 1914 he had created more than 1200 portraits that, displayed together, had the effect of turning his sitters into types instead of individuals. He dressed his subjects in costumes, weapons, and war paint for an “authentic” effect, yet most of Burbank’s sitters were fully assimilated into the modern world. For example, Tlo-be-nel-ly’s flowered trousers were l...