Piegan Blackfeet Woman

Description

An inscription on this watercolor identifies the subject as a young Piegan woman, presumably the one known to have been painted by Bodmer on August 24 whom Maximilian described as being very pretty, with beautiful eyes. She required her husband's permission for the portrait, and he was given red paint and blue beads in exchange for the favor. Although his young wife appears calm and quiet in this picture, apparently she was not feeling well and proved a restless subject. The Plains fondness for blue and white beads is evident in this woman's elegant attire. Her dress is decorated with bands of beadwork as well as clusters of beaded fringe and appliqued bits of black and red cloth. She also seems to be wearing a beaded sash instead of an everyday rawhide belt, plus beaded bracelets and moccasins. A plain skin robe falls from her left shoulder across her back to the ground at her right.