Photography by Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
Wakechai (Crouching Eagle), Saukie Chief
Wakechai, also known as Crouching Eagle, was a prominent and respected chief of the Sac and Fox Nation. In 1824, he travelled to Washington, DC, with the US Superintendent of Indian Affairs to sign a treaty ceding land in present-day Missouri to the US Government in exchange for payment over ten years, plus blacksmithing and farming supplies and cattle. Charles Bird King painted Wakechai and other delegates while they were in DC.
The Sac and Fox continue to express the teachings of their ancestors at work and at play today.
ArtistCharles Bird King, 1785–1862
Dateca. 1824
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions23 1/2 x 20 1/4 x 2 in.
Signedverso, on panel: Wai-Kee-Chai, Sanky Chief / Croushing [sic] Eagle / by C.B. King
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010.88
ClassificationPainting
Provenance(James Graham & Sons, New York, NY); Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge [1882-1973], Madison, NJ; to Estate of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, 1973; to (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, NY), October 31, 1975, lot 109 (as Wakechai (Crouching Eagle), A Sauk Chief); purchased by (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, NY), 1975; to Pierre Bergé [b. 1930], Pierre Hotel, New York, NY, 1978; to (Sotheby's, New York, NY), December 1, 2004, lot 138; purchased by a private foundation for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2004
On ViewYes
This artwork's face covers about 65× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.