Guarding the Corn Fields, 1849-1855
Seth Eastmanexpand_more
Watercolorexpand_more
Gift of the W. Duncan and Nivin MacMillan Foundationexpand_more 2014.31.30
Not on Viewexpand_more
Here Seth Eastman depicted the reality of Dakota women saving their corn, one of the crops women planted to augment the food supply. Stationed on makeshift platforms, they bang on a metal pot and wave cloth to keep predatory crows and blackbirds from descending. This could be land along Minneapolis’s Lake Calhoun (Bde Maka Ska in Dakota) where one Native community set up farming, as game was becoming harder and harder to find.
This watercolor, one of 35 works on paper by Eastman in Mia’s collection, was the basis for an illustration in Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s massive "Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States" (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851-57).
Details
- Title
- Guarding the Corn Fields
- Artist Life
- 1808–1875
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2014.31.30
- Provenance
- James J. Hill (St. Paul, 1838-1916); his estate; James Jerome Hill Reference Library St. Paul (by 1921-1994; sold October, to MacMillan); W. Duncan MacMillan, Wayzata (1994-d. 2006); the W. Duncan and Nivin MacMillan Foundation (2006-2014; given to MIA)
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Seth Eastman: A Portfolio of North American Indians 4
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.