Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)

Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) from 1776 depicts the Mohawk leader who allied with the British during the American Revolution. Brant visited London in 1776, and Romney's portrait is one of the most significant European images of a Native American leader, capturing his dignity and commanding presence. Romney's oil handling was distinguished by fluid, rapidly applied strokes and an instinctive sense of elegant silhouette, producing portraits of apparent effortlessness that concealed careful...

The Mohawk leader is rendered with the same sympathetic dignity Romney brought to his aristocratic sitters, the distinctive costume and features observed with careful naturalism.