Showing posts with label portraiture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portraiture. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Chief Joseph Brant: The Man, The Myth.



I have, for some time, been interested in the life and times of Chief Joseph Brant. He was, without question, a colourful and controversial figure caught up in the crush of the cultural evolution that swept over the North American continent during the end of the 18th century.

My portrait of him is an imaginative interpretation of him as a young man, based on prior 'formal' and 'informal'  euro-portraits done of him later in life. (Note: He lived long before photography, as a documentary device, emerged.) All we have today are other artistic interpretations of him. Mostly he was painted as an emissary for his people, though, in fact, he had little hereditary stature within the then small Mohawk nation. The 'Chief' designation came as a 'war' appellation, later in life.

I've now added my own portrait of Chief Joseph Brant to the well-known portrait pantheon of the man, created by George Romney, Gilbert Stuart, William Anderson, Charles Wilson Peale, Ezra Ames etc.

Who was Chief Joseph Brant?*

Chief Joseph Brant (b.1743-d.1807) - aka Thayendanegea ("he who places two bets") - was a prominent Mohawk politician and warrior during the American and British Revolution in North America.

Joseph became a 'Brant' when his mother (of the matri-lineal Mohawk Wolf Clan) married for a second time to Brant, a well known Mohawk leader. "Her new husband's family had deep ties with the British; his grandfather was one of the Four Mohawk Kings to visit England in 1710." (Wikipedia) Joseph's half-sister, Molly, soon established a common-law relationship with Sir William Johnson, the influential and wealthy British Superintendent for Northern Indian Affairs. Sir William was fluent in the language of Mohawk and was greatly involved with the development of 'British-Indian' relations over the course of his lifetime. Joseph moved in with them at Johnson Hall, and William soon took on the responsibility of educating Joseph to, what would become, the 'New World'.

It is interesting to note, that, by the time of his death, Johnson was one of the largest landowners in British America, (170,000 acres), and one of it's largest Northern slave owners (60 Afro-Americans and numerous indentured Irish families worked his lands and mills.) 

Sir William Johnson was also a strong supporter of the British Anglican Church to counter the influence of French Catholic missionaries in western New York. By so doing, he consolidated both Iroquois and British territorial and growing commercial interests against the rival Algonquin and invested French interests.

In 1769 Sir William Johnson paid for the construction of an Anglican church for the Mohawk on land donated by Molly Brant. He is known to have had 8 children with her, as well as numerous other children by other women. (Not particularly 'uncommon behaviour' for that era.)

Joseph watched this powerful man of influence and learned how to 'operate'  ...

Starting around age 18, Brant took part with Mohawk and other Iroquois allies in a number of British actions against the French in what is now upper New York state and Canada.

In the spring of 1772, at 29 years of age, Brant went to Fort Hunterto stay with the Reverend John Stuart. He became Stuart's interpreter and teacher of Mohawk, collaborating with him to translate the Anglican catechism and the Gospel of Mark into the Mohawk language. Brant was, seemingly, a devout Anglican.

He married three times: Peggy, who died of tuberculosis, (and had two sons, including Isaac who he later killed, in 'self defense'), Suzanna (died in 1777, with no issue) and Catherine Adonwentishon Croghan, who he married in the winter of 1780. She was the daughter of Catharine (Tekarihoga), a Mohawk, and George Croghan, a prominent Irish colonist and British Indian agent, deputy to Sir William Johnson. She and Joseph had seven children.

On November 11, 1775, Guy Johnson (nephew of Sir William) took Brant, aged 32, with him to London to solicit more support from the British government. Brant hoped to persuade the Crown to address past Mohawk land grievances in exchange for their participation as allies in the impending revolutionary war. The British government promised the Iroquois people land in Quebec if the combined Iroquois nations would fight on the British side in what was shaping up as open rebellion by the American colonists. In London, Brant was treated as a celebrity and was interviewed for publication by James Boswell.  His portrait was painted (twice) by famed portrait painter, George Romney, and later, by other notable portrait artists. He was received by King George III at St. James' Palace. Life was good.

Meanwhile, the existing council of the Six Nations had previously decided on a policy of neutrality between the warring North American euro-factions. They considered Brant a minor war chief and his Mohawk clan a relatively weak people. Frustrated, Brant recruited insurgents who would become known as 'Brant's Volunteers'. In essence, these fighters were a mixed band of marauders who raided frontier communities, stealing cattle, livestock & crops, and burned homesteads, killing many 'enemies' ...

In July 1777 the Six Nations council decided to abandon neutrality and entered the war on the British side. Brant soon acquired a reputation as 'Monster Brant' for his lack of restraint in military actions. That nickname was built, it seems, on unsubstantiated rumor, but stuck. During his assorted military escapades, he was wounded twice, once in the ankle, and once in the leg.

In May, 1779, Brant returned to Fort Niagara where, with his new British salary and plunder from his raids, he acquired a farm on the Niagara River, six miles from the fort. To work the farm and to serve the household, he used slaves captured during his raids. Brant also bought two slave girls, a seven-year-old African-American girl named Sophia Burthen Pooley & her sister. They served him and his family for many years before he sold Sophia to an Englishman in Ancaster for $100. (It appears that Sophia and his wife, Catherine, didn't get along that well ...)

He, like Sir William Johnson before him, built a small Anglican chapel for the Indians who lived nearby.

With the Treaty of Paris (1783), both Britain and the United States ended their conflict. Both countries studiously ignored any prior land sovereignty issue with the Indians.  Brant was disgusted by this betrayal and became instrumental in the establishment of the Western Confederacy (of 15 tribes), that attempted to regain sovereign control of former native lands. The long and the short of it, they did not succeed.

Brant, however, was 'honoured' in 1784 by then Upper Canadian Governor, Haldimand, with a pension and a proclaimed land grant for a Mohawk reserve on the Grand River in present day Ontario. Later that year, the clan matrons decided that the Six Nations should divide, with half going to the Haldimand grant and the other half staying in upstate New York. 

With his secured funds, Joseph built a new house in Brant's Town which was described as "a handsome two story house, built after the manner of the white people." Therein, he managed 20 white and black servants and slaves. (Brant believed Anglo Governments made too much over the keeping of slaves.  Captives of war were long used as servants in Indian practice.) He developed a good farm of mixed crops and also kept cattle, sheep, and hogs.

In 1792, the American government invited Brant to Philadelphia, then capital of the United States, where he met President George Washington and his cabinet. The Americans offered him a large pension, and tried to lure back the Mohawks, with a reservation in upstate New York.

In early 1797, Brant traveled again to Philadelphia to assured the Americans that he "would never again take up the tomahawk against the United States." Brant actually offered his band of 'volunteers' to the French to  "overturn the British government in the province."  ...

He eventually secured 3,500 acres from the Mississauga Indians at the head of Burlington Bay. (By then, Upper Canada's Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe, would not allow land sales between Indians, so he bought this tract of land from the Mississauga and gave it to Brant.) Around 1802, Brant moved there and built a mansion that was intended to be a half-scale version of Johnson Hall. He is known to have had a prosperous farm, in the colonial style, with a 100 acres of crops.

Joseph Brant died in this house at the head of Lake Ontario (site of what would become the city of Burlington, Ontario) on November 24, 1807 at age 64 after a short illness.

His last words, reputedly spoken to his adopted nephew, John Norton, reflect his lifelong commitment to his people: "Have pity on the poor Indians. If you have any influence with the great, endeavour to use it for their good."  In 1850, his remains were carried 34 miles in relays on the shoulders of young men of the Grand River Indian Reserve to a tomb at Her Majesty's Chapel of the Mohawks in Brantford, Ontario.

In summation, Brant clearly acted as a wily negotiator for the Six Nations. He used British fears of his dealings with the Americans & the French to extract concessions, and to self-profit. His conflicts with British administrators in Canada regarding tribal land claims were later exacerbated by his renewed relations with American leaders. Yet, even so, the Brits allowed him to settle handsomely in Upper Canada, off reserve.

Brant was a war chief, not a hereditary Mohawk chief or sachem. His decisions could and were at times overruled by the assembled sachems and clan matrons. However, his natural ability, his early education, and, the connections he was able to form, made him one of the most influential Indian leaders of his time.

His lifelong mission was to help the Indian survive the transition from one culture to another, transcending the political, social and economic challenges of one of the most volatile, dynamic periods of North American history. 

* Facts extracted from Archives of Canada and  Wikipedia   
UPDATE, June 2021: Have just stumbled on an in-depth analysis of Brant's land-grant negotiations and war-time escapades. Dive deeper here http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thayendanegea_5E.html

NB: There are ample on-line resources to further expand your knowledge of this intriguing man ...


In other news ... and a curious bit of timing ...
The City of Burlington unveils a new heritage plaque this week ...


For an interesting general history about Burlington, go here> http://www.eureka4you.com/burlington/history-history.htm
There's an curious piece of trivia on that site about the living tree that Brant used as a marker to walk off the boundaries of his land grant.








Wednesday, May 5, 2010

New Painting: 'Warhol's Mistress'

24"x24" - oil & acrylic
on primed oak plywood - FOR SALE

Detail of Warhol's Mistress ...

Sunday, May 2, 2010

MashUp Portrait Collages

'A Hunk of Owen:MLH Mashup'

'Marilyn & Happy Inuk: MLH Mashup'

'Marilyn & Miro: MLH Mashup'

'End of Civilization as We've Known it: MLH Mashup'

'FameUs Pho-toads: MLH Mashup'

WHO do YOU see - ?
WHAT do you WANT to SEE - ?
I've posted these photos with a direct intent of exploring some rather controversial notions of 'fair use' under our current Copyright regime(s). In each instance, I've used a relatively famous photo with a relatively non-famous photo to create a NEW 'mlh mashup' IMAGE. These new items convey both a different - often satirical - meaning or focus then the 'original' photographs intended. I've also deliberately altered the colour palettes, and cropped the images to the sizes I want. My question, for those who do wonder if this kind of 'mashing' is 'legal', is this - are these NEW works Original?
On one hand, there is NO QUESTION I have created NEW IMAGES. On the other, I've created those NEW works on the backs of others, (... ie. most creators 'borrow' from other creators ... ), and I DID use some of my own photographs in the FIRST photo, 'A Hunk of Owen: MLH Mashup'. So, are these NEW IMAGES 'Originals', or not?

If not, should I, then, 'credit' and/or 'compensate' those other living - or dead - photogs whose works I've borrowed? Should, by natural extension, every photographer credit their infleunces in the byline of every shot they make? Wouldn't that mean they must begin with the first photo image they ever saw that TRAINED their eye to SEE-?

Should famed photog Annie Leibovitz, as a continued example, whose common use of 18th century portrait artists 'compositions' to 'set up' her shots, 'credit' those long dead 18th century artists, who, in turn freely 'borrowed' from their own artistic peers and predecessors? If so, why? and if not, why not? You can see how 'fair use' gets very 'gray' very quickly.

So, where ought we draw the line for 'fair use'? Can we? This whole tug of war between the 'Right to Copy' and 'Copyright' LAW interests me greatly. I'd be most interested in your comments. Postive and/or negative. Also, for the record, these above NEW IMAGES are intended for 'non-commerical educational private use'. They have been created solely as illustrative examples within this on-going 'fair use' debate. To be extra clear, I am NOT selling or reproducing them anywhere else but here on this blog ...

Thoughts?

...

... are the natives friendly? ...

Sunday, February 1, 2009

i spy with my little eye ...


I can't resist this. Check out: http://obamicon.me
Frank Shepard Fairey's recent iconographic graphic portrait of Obama based on the Mannie Garcia's AP photo image on the cover of Time Magazine has fired off a whole industry of 'knock offs'. Fairey's use of palette and 'style' is vaguely 'Soviet Constructivist', and yet his intention is clearly reverential. His portrait of Obama by far exceeds the IMPACT of the original photographer's image. It is a stunning tribute to the promise and the hope that one man, Obama, has managed to engendered in the global imagination.

In the spirit of this 'fire', I too have 'twiddled' with the palette ... The possibilites are endless.


Update: February 10th, 2009. Interestingly enough, Fairey's use of Garcia's ORIGINAL photo image has come under it's own 'fire'. Lawyers are now having a hay-day over 'copyright' , 'trespass' and 'fair use' issues ... see: http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2009/01/27/the-obama-hope-poster-shepard-fairey-and-photographer-mannie-garcia/

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

about-FACE: Photo & Pencil Exhibit

... what do we really SEE ?
... when we look at another person?
about-FACE:
PHOTO & PENCIL EXHIBIT
by Golden Horseshoe Artists
Ewout de Gelder &

Margaret Lindsay Holton
Opening: Friday, Sept 5th, 6-9pm
at 'The Village Gallery'
17 Main Street SOUTH, Waterdown, On. Canada
( ... between Toronto & London, Ontario.
Call 905-689-1688 for direction details ... )

Showing 'til October 17th, 2008
Open daily - Mon-Sat, 9-6pm
'WHY WE WANTED TO DO THIS ... '
There has been a verrrrry long, not so subtle, often fatal, rivalry between the pencil and the camera. Practitioners of either discipline dismiss the skill and expertise of the 'other'. Each 'camp' waves their pennant arguing about: the incalcuable 'instant realism' of photograhy VERSUS the studied meditative 'realism' of a 'one-off' pencil portrait ... Pennants flutter.
As artists, we wanted to explore this oft contentious relationship and find that which compliments, rather then complains, about the 'other'. In the course of preparing for this show, we developed a novel 'perspective'. We created 'ricochet' portraits. We used each other's work to stimulate our own photo or pencil work. Ewout shot photographs, and I drew pencil portraits. The results are amusing, insightful and often delightful.
The pencil & the camera are BOTH only 'tools' by which we, as artists, subjectively record HOW and WHAT we perceive. Each 'tool' assists in 'capturing' or 'freezing time'. Yet, in essence, both mediums & disciplines are 'fake & arbitrary'. Because both do ATTEMPT to 'stop time'. Everyone KNOWS - 'time' does NOT stop.
So, with that all said, we welcome you to come take a look at our unique show. Let YOUR eye 'ricochet'. Let it ping-pong from portrait to portrait. Do an 'about-face': turn around, take yet another look at that BEGUILING living breathing marvelous fascinating and very human FACE in front of you ...

Saturday, September 6, 2008

'about-FACE: Photo & Pencil Exhibit' LAUNCH ... The Village Gallery, Waterdown, Canada


Well, THAT was FUN !!!
'Event' Photography' by Margaret Lindsay Holton

'Flamborough County Friday Night Attire'

Excellent turn-out from 10 month BEAUTIFUL baby girl to VINTAGE 80 year olds ... Great country 'vib' to the whole event, with delicious fresh pressed cider and yummy Canadian cheddar ... Lots of yabbing, lots of mingling
... Flamborough County & the village of Waterdown did us proud ...
... lots of head turners ... lots of head turning ... gee, there was a whole lot of 'ricochetin' goin' on !

Remember, 'about-FACE: Photo & Pencil Exhibit
by Ewout de Gelder & myself
is ON until OCTOBER 17th, 2008 @ The Village Gallery
17 Main Street SOUTH, Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
Call Dave for 'directions' - 905-689-1688

'Portrait of Ewout de Gelder, 2008'
by Margaret Lindsay Holton


 UPDATE: Press > https://www.insidehalton.com/whatson-story/2940606-camera-and-pencil-working-together-in-about-face-exhibit/

Friday, September 5, 2008

Pencil Portraits by MLH

Commission - 'Family Pet, Dog Portrait'

In anticipation of an up-coming Pencil & Photo Portrait Show entitled 'About FACE:' to be held with Ewout de Gelder in Waterdown, Ontario for the duration of September and half of October, I thought it expedient to show you a few examples of 'what to expect'....

'Charles Pachter, Canadian Artist'
(and 'LIVING LEGEND' ... love ya Chas!)


Line 1: Queen Elizabeth II, Portrait of a Young Girl, Lester Pearson
Line 2: Ewout De Gelder, Charles Pachter, Nelson Mandela
Line 3: Paul Newman (in his younger years), Mordecai Richler, Bob Young


Benazir Bhutto, assassinated, December 2007

Local Postal Clerk, Waterdown

Ewout and I intend to do 'ricochet' portraits - stimulating each other with portraits that we've done independantly of each other, and then trying to 'mimic', to some degree, the essence of the 'others finished work' ... we are still 'in production', but the results, thus far, are proving not only FASCINATIN' but provocative. All in all, 'tis SERIOUS FUN ...


Additional samples follow of my pencil portaits done over the past five years ... (and yes, Commissions are ALWAYS welcome ... contact the artist.)

Pencil Portraits by MLH, continued ...

Ron Dembo, CEO, Toronto Business Executive


Line 1: Donald Trump, Rick Mercer, 16th century portrait after Andrea del Sarto ,
Line 2: Benazir Bhutto, Melvin Smith - Canadian Refugee, Walter Cronkite,
Line 3: Tony Marchese - local merchant, Albert Einstein, Pamela Anderson


Hugh Laurie aka 'Dr. House' - Television Character

Bob Hope, American humorist


... guess who ...

Sample MLH Photo Portraits (Digital)

'Postal Clerk, 2008'


'Henri Cartier-Bresson Remembers His Youth '


'Granny & Jed'


'Shattered ...'